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LUTHERAN 



HOME MISSIONS 



A CALL TO THE HOME CHURCH 



BY 



Rev. J. R. E. HUNT, B. D. 

AUTHOR OF "THE LUTHERAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL HANDBOOK' 

AND "INTERESTING INFORMATION ABOUT 

THE LUTHERAN CHURCH" 



ROCK ISLAND, ILL. 

AUGUSTANA BOOK CONCERN 

1913 






Copyright, 1913 

BY 

Augustana Book Concern 



©CI.A357413 



TO MY WIFE 

WHO MOST EARNESTLY AND FAITHFULLY 

HAS LABORED WITH ME AMID MANY HARDSHIPS AND 

DISCOURAGEMENTS ON THE HOME MISSION FIELD 

THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY 

THE AUTHOR 



PREFACE 

Some years ago I determined to make a study of Lu- 
theran Home Missions. I set about to secure literature 
on the subject, and to my great surprise I was unable 
to find a single booh with anything like an exhaustive 
treatment of the subject. In my dilemma I turned to 
the religious papers and magazines of our Church. Here 
and there I found an article. I searched the files of 
twenty years back and secured practically everything 
that had been printed on Home Missions from a Luther- 
an standpoint.. After classifying my material I began 
studying the problems. 

I was struck with the absence of any theory of Home 
Missions. For years u>e have been endeavoring to carry 
on Home Mission work, and no one seemed to know what 
plan the Church was following. Every worker appeared 
to be a law unto himself. It occurred to me that there 
ought to be a theory of Home Missions as well as of any 
other activity of the Church. With this idea in mind 
I began sludying the past experience of the Church. 
This book is the result. 

I have endeavored to gather up the experience of the 
Church and from it to evolve a true theory of Home 
Missions. With this in mind I have first given a general 
survey. This I follow with a careful investigation of the 
field. Then comes a study of the people and the re- 



LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 



lation of the Church to Home Missions. I then hastily 
sketch the methods the Church has used in the past, with 
an analysis of the working forces and the practical work 
of beginning and building up a mission congregation. 

The reader will notice that I have quoted frequently 
throughout the whole book. I have done this for a 
purpose. I am anxious to bring before the Church, not 
my own opinions about Home Missions, but the actual 
experience of the Church itself in carrying on this great 
work. I have tried to give credit as far as I could. 
There may be instances where credit is not given. 

In treating the Home Mission problems I recognize 
that I am on virgin soil. There were no writings to 
guide me, so I had to develop my own plan at every step. 
In doing a pioneer work of this character no doubt many 
weaknesses and mistakes will become apparent. I ask 
that they be overlooked and that the work be judged on 
its merits. 

I have spent my entire ministerial life on the Home 
Mission field, and no subject lies closer to my heart. I 
send, forth this book with the hope and prayer that it 
may be used by the Master in helping forward the great 
work of the Lutheran Church in this land. If this 
book will in a small way hasten the day of greater and 
more efficient Home Mission activity I shall be grateful 
to my heavenly Father. 

October 1913. J. R. E. Hunt. 



CONTENTS 

Chapter I. A General Survey 9 

Definition of Home Missions. — Home Missions in the process of 
becoming a science. — The Doctrine had to be settled. — The Liturgy 
had to be formed. — Church practice had to be settled. — Inner Missions 
brought to a science. — A broad vision. — The way made ready. 

Chapter II. The Basis and Object of Home Missions.. 25 

In the Old Testament. — In the New Testament. — The example of 
the Apostles. — The love of Christ in the hearts of believers. — The 
object of Home Missions. — To save souls. — To build up the Church. — 
To nationalize the Church in this country. — To save the country. — To 
strengthen Foreign Missions. — To promote Inner Missions. 

Chapter III. The Importance of Home Missions 46 

Home Missions serve to maintain the numerical strength of the 
Church. — Home Missions render the past labors of the Church avail- 
able. — Serve to extend the Church into new and fresh fields. — 
Maintain and increase the means of the Church. — The most economical 
branch of service. — Are of the greatest importance when the Church 
is scattered. — The peculiar situation of the Lutheran Church in this 
country. — The great opportunity for Home Mission work by the Lu- 
theran Church. — The great responsibility which rests upon the Church. 
— ■ The weakening of the revival system. 

Chapter IV. The Field of Home Missions 71 

The country as a whole. — The East. — New England. — The east 
north central division. — The West. — The west north central division. 
— The mountain division. — The Pacific slope. — The South. 

Chapter V. The People for Lutheran Home Missions. 
The American and the German 96 

A partially prepared people. — The American. — Conscientiousness. — 
Courage. — Energy. — Consideration. — Ideals. — Colonization. — 
Intellectual life. — Inventive genius. — Money-making power. — States- 
manship. — Physical characteristics. — Religious life. — The Germans. — 
German immigration. — First wave. — Second wave. — Third wave. — 
The present situation. — German characteristics. — Honesty. — Per- 
sistency. — Love of labor. — Sense of duty. — Simple life. — The joy 
of living. — Care of body. — Individualism. — Idealism. 

Chapter VI. The People for Lutheran Home Missions, 
Continued 116 

The Scandinavians. — Characteristics of the Scandinavians. — Strong 
individuality. — Courage. — Firmness and determination. — Assimilate 
easily. — Patriotism. — Take to the soil. — Not exploiters. — Lawabid- 
ing. — Religious characteristics. — The Slovaks. 

Chapter VII. The Relation of the Church to Home 
Missions 131 

The Church has the only instruments through which Home Missions 
can be promoted. — The Church is under obligations to spread these 
means. — The Church has the necessary requirements within itself. — 
The relation of the local congregation to Home Missions. — It should 
have a pastor interested in Home Missions. — It should be informed on 



8 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

the subject. — It should have an interest in a particular mission. — 
It should send its pastor to visit the Home Mission field. — It should 
have a missionary society. — The Sunday-school and Home Missions. — 
The theological seminary and Home Missions. — The religious press 
and Home Missions. 

Chapter VIII. Home Mission Forces 147 

The Home Mission Board. — Its organization. — Its outlook and grasp 
of the situation. — Its mission policy. — Its method of finance. — Its 
support from the Church. — Its attitude towards individual missions. — 
The General Superintendent. — He must have a deep love for his 
Church. — He must have a broad vision. — He must be capable of 
inspiring enthusiasm. — ■ He must be conversant with the needs of the 
work. — He must be capable of directing the missionaries. — He must 
not be easily discouraged. 

Chapter IX. Home Mission Forces, Continued 163 

The Missionary pastor. — He must be a man of earnest piety. — 
He must have practical common sense. — He must have zeal for the 
work. — He must possess the spirit of self-denial. — He must be un- 
compromising in the faith. — He must possess the grace of patience. — 
He must be adapted to the work and the field. — The Church Extension 
Society. — Its object. — Its method of operation. 

Chapter X. Methods of Carrying on Home Mission Work 180 

The itinerate system. — The parochial system. — The synodical sys- 
tem. — The General Council. — Swedish Home Missions. — The General 
Synod. — The Missouri Synod. — The Joint Synod of Ohio. 

Chapter XI. Beginning a Mission Congregation 199 

A general survey of the community. — The permanency of the people. 

— The social life of the community. — The financial standing of the 
people. — The occupation of the people. — Religious conditions of the 
community. — Churches in the community. — The religious condition 
of the people. — Types of Lutherans in the community. — The advis- 
ability of starting a mission. — The need of a Lutheran Church. — 
The attitude of the community towards the proposed Church. — The 
attitude of the other Churches towards the proposed Church. — Starting 
the mission. — Securing a place of meeting. — Working up an interest 
in the community. — Choosing material with which to begin. — The 
first service. 

Chapter XII. Securing Members 222 

Winning men. — Motive for reaching men. — • The boy. — Young men 
getting a start in life. — The young family. — The indifferent. — The 
doubter. — The pivotal man. — Methods for winning men. — Method of 
approach. — Time of approach. — ■ Correspondence. 

Chapter XIII. Securing Lot and Building 240 

A mission should not stay in temporary quarters long. — The purchase 
of a lot tends to give permanency. — The purchase of a lot arouses 
hope in the people. — The purchase of a lot gives the mission some 
definite work. — The location of the lot. — The building. 

Chapter XIV. Building Up the Work 253 

Financing the mission. — Meeting the discouragements. — Keeping up 
the interest. — ■ The weeding out process. — Handling the factions. — 
Developing the Sunday-school. — Developing a Church consciousness. — 
Establishing a standing in the community. — Creating a wide outlook. 

— Bringing the mission to self-sustentation. 




CHAPTER I. 



A General Survey. 



America presents to the world to-day the great- 
est problem of the ages. Statesmen and philos- 
ophers, historians and clergymen all agree that 
this country holds the key to future civilization. 
The human race is on trial in this land. Self-gov- 
ernment and religion are the two problems before 
this country. While the State and the Church are 
separate, yet the two stand or fall together. Self- 
government without religion will fail and reli- 
gion without good government cannot continue. 

God has favored our land above other lands. To 
it He has given unbounded territory and unlim- 
ited resources. He has chosen this country as 
the place where mankind shall develop the high- 
est civilization and where the Church shall do 
its noblest work. Into this favored land He has 
been pouring millions of people from Europe and 

Lutheran Home Missions. 2 



10 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

Asia, and out of this chaos is to rise the most won- 
derful nation and the most glorious Church of all 
times. God's latest creation is always best, and 
the nation and Church which are now in process 
of forming here in America shall be, in the fu- 
ture, His greatest handiwork. The advantages of 
intelligence and genius, the avenues of wealth and 
liberty, the privileges of freedom, personal rights 
and ownership are destined to develop a noble 
type of manhood. The unbounded religious priv- 
ileges, and the great opportunity for individual 
and social activities will produce the highest type 
of Christian character. That Church which to- 
day has the vision, grasps the situation, and uses 
the God-given opportunity will be the Church of 
this land to-morrow. But that Church which hes- 
itates will be lost. We are standing on the thresh- 
old of a great future. God is parting the veil 
of obscurity and we are beginning to peer into 
a new era. In this new era the Lutheran Church 
is destined to play a great part, if not the chief 
role. Nearly three centuries have elapsed since 
our Church was first planted on these shores, but 
it is just beginning to come to its own. 

This is a missionary age. Never in the history 
of the world has there been so much missionary 
activity. The Church has been sending out its 
hundreds of workers into the foreign field and it 
has been gathering its thousands of souls into the 
home fold. The heathen world presents the great= 
est opportunities for mission work and the home- 



A GENERAL SURVEY 11 

land is ripe unto the harvest. The supreme mo- 
ment has come. The crisis of missions has ar- 
rived. That Church which shall rightly cultivate 
and properly develop the home field to-day shall 
be the Church which will do the largest Foreign 
missionary work to-morrow. The future of the 
Church of America lies in its Home Missionary 
opportunities. That Church which puts forth 
the most strenuous efforts on the home field will 
be the Church with greatest strength to carry on 
work in the foreign field. Our Home Mission op- 
portunity is without parallel. Like Saul it stands 
head and shoulders above all other opportunities. 
Let the Church solve the Home Mission problem 
and all its other problems will adjust themselves. 

In the midst of this Home Mission work our 
Lutheran Church now finds itself, and our leaders 
are wrestling with its problems. Already the 
signs indicate that the final victory of the Prot- 
estant Church in America shall belong to the 
Lutheran Church. 

The one great work before the Lutheran Church 
in this country has been that of Home Missions, 
and strange as it may seem no one has searched 
out its underlying principles and classified them. 
It is evident that there must be a right way of 
carrying on the work, and a second thought will 
make it just apparent that there may be many 
ways which are impracticable and unprofitable. 
It shall be our endeavor to discover, classify, and 
explain the principles of Home Mission work. 



12 LUTHEBAN HOME MISSIONS 

Definitions of Home Missions. 

Our first task is to define Home Missions. Is 
it related to other branches of theological science, 
or does it stand alone? It is plainly evident that 
there are different ideas about Home Missions. 
The Lutheran conception of Home Missions is 
different from that of the other denominations. 
Our Home Mission work is wider in scope and 
more vital to the life of the Church than theirs. 
Their Home Mission work is more nearly com- 
pleted than ours. To the Lutheran Church in 
this country, Home Missions is the supreme task. 
What, then, are we to understand by Lutheran 
Home Missions ? We go to the Lutheran Cyclopae- 
dia for our first answer. It says: "This term 
denotes a sphere of church activity exclusively 
American. The modern migration of nations has 
brought and is bringing to these shores people 
from every portion of the world. The citizens of 
the Lutheran states of Europe settling here usual- 
ly leave their pastors at home. The same is true 
of those moving from our Eastern states to the 
great West and Northwest. In order to gather 
this stream of Lutherans and to hold it for our 
Church, pastors called 'Home Missionaries' are 
sent forth, supported by various synods, by the 
general bodies to which they belong, or, in some 
cases, by individual congregations." Dr. R. F. 
Weidner, defining Home Missions in his Theologi- 
cal Encyclopaedia, says : "The work of Home Mis- 



A GENERAL SURVEY 13 

sions 'is work that is carried on in our own land, 
and consists in gathering into self-supporting 
congregations the scattered brethren in the faith, 
together with unchurched masses of our mixed 
population.' There are thousands of professed 
Christians scattered over each state, temporarily 
severed from Christian congregations, and an 
equally large number indifferent to religion, both 
native and foreign born, who are in sore need of 
the ministry of the Church. The great aim is to 
provide the Gospel to all classes and conditions of 
men, and everywhere to organize self-supporting 
congregations." Another definition given by Rev. 
Morris Officer expresses this idea : "It is a func- 
tional division, marking out a somewhat distinct 
office in the system of evangelical operations, and 
that office distinctively is to finish out an incom- 
plete work. It enters upon what was begun by 
foreign missions, and carries it forward to its 
consummation in the establishment of the pasto- 
rate." Bliss, in the Encyclopaedia of Missions, 
says: "In general, however, Home Missions may 
be considered as that department of the work of 
the Church in which the outlying sections of its 
own country are provided for. It includes the 
providing of ministers and churches for places 
destitute of either or both, the assistance of 
churches that for one reason or another are not 
strong enough to stand alone, the furnishing of 
facilities for Christian education in new com- 
munities and the meeting with Christian influence 



14 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

the great mass of immigration that so often 
threatens to overrun and break down Christian 
institutions." From these definitions we learn 
that the term ''Home Missions'* denotes a dis- 
tinctively American church activity, that this ac- 
tivity has to do with people who have had some 
religious training, and has for its object the 
preaching of the Gospel to those destitute of it, 
the organization of self-supporting congregations 
and the complete distribution of the Gospel over 
the whole land. 

Home Missions in the Process of Becoming 
a Science. 

Important as the Home Mission work is to the 
Lutheran Church in this country, still it is the 
last church activity to be reduced to a science. 
All other branches of church work have been for- 
mulated into orderly systems. We have a science 
of Diaconics, a science of Sunday-school work, 
etc., but one will search in vain for a science 
of Home Missions. In fact, it is just now in 
the process of becoming a science. There are fun- 
damental principles underlying this work, but 
as yet no effort has been made to discover and 
classify them. Probably we have been too busy 
carrying on the work of Home Missions to re- 
duce it to a science. A moment's reflection 
will make it apparent that the Church has 
lost much by reason of this neglect. The 



A GENERAL SURVEY 15 

accumulated experience of years of Home Mis- 
sion work, undoubtedly, will be of great service 
to those who are engaged in the work. As a 
result every missionary pastor has had to blaze 
his own pathway through the dense forest of 
Home Mission work. Not having the experience 
of former missionaries to guide him, each mis- 
sionary pastor has had to start at the bottom 
and build as high as he could, and when his suc- 
cessor came, he also had to start at the bottom 
and build up. The great wonder is that the 
Church has been able to accomplish as much as it 
has with this method. Surely, the time has ar- 
rived when the Church's experience in Home 
Mission work should be gathered, classified, and 
systematized. 

The Doctrine had to be Settled. 

There are many reasons why the Church has 
not developed a theory of Home Missions long 
before this time. One of these reasons is that 
the doctrine had to be settled first. Since the 
Lutheran Church is the most doctrinal church in 
the land, this may appear to be a strange state- 
ment, but it is the statement of a fact. While our 
Church has always stood firmly on the Augsburg 
Confession, still it has had to pass through an 
era of greac doctrinal discussion. If the spirit 
of Muhlenberg had been carried out we would 
have solved the Home Mission problem long ago, 



16 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

but the era of doctrinal discussion came on and 
that occupied the time and attention of the best 
men in the Church, and Home Mission work was 
never systematized. We do not mean to say that 
the era of doctrinal discussion was not an era of 
Home Mission work, in fact, it was a time of great 
Home Mission activity. But this activity was 
not always prompted by the right spirit. Synodi- 
cal partizanship instead of the love of souls was 
often the underlying motive. Men were moved 
by the desire of building up a synod instead of 
the desire for building up the Kingdom of God. 
Such a spirit could not produce a true theory of 
Home Missions. However, the day of doctrinal 
discussion has passed, and the Home Mission era 
has arrived. 

The Liturgy had to be Formed. 

Not only did the doctrines have to be settled, 
but the liturgy had to be formed. The Lutheran 
Church has always been a Church of law and 
order, and it always has demanded order in its 
worship. While the Church never laid stress upon 
any one form of service, still it has always been 
a Church with a liturgy. When the fathers came 
to this country they brought with them the form 
of service prevalent in that part of Europe from 
which they came. Coming as they did from all 
parts of the Lutheran Church in Europe, this 
gave rise to the most varied kinds of liturgy. Be- 



A GENERAL SURVEY 17 

ing a liturgical Church and having all these vari- 
ous forms of service, and also being surrounded 
by the Reformed Churches, which disparage litur- 
gical forms of service, our Church was precipi- 
tated into a liturgical discussion which occupied 
its attention for a long time. This delayed Home 
Mission study. But after a long struggle we are 
getting order out of the liturgical chaos, and the 
work of Home Missions is forcing itself upon the 
Church as never before. Undoubtedly this was 
the divine order of things. It was absolutely 
necessary that the form of service be settled be- 
fore the greatest Home Mission activity could 
be put forth. 

It was imperative that the Church have a rec- 
ognized form of service to offer to the mission 
congregations. Our mission congregations have 
enough troubles without having to go through a 
liturgical debate. The Church did well in form- 
ing the liturgy first, even if it did retard Home 
Mission activity. 

Church Practice had to be Settled. 

The Lutheran Church has always been con- 
servative, not only in doctrine, but also in prac- 
tice. From the beginning it has been as careful 
about its practices as about its doctrines. While 
this may have been a barrier to rapid progress, 
still it has been one of the secrets of its success. 
In the earlier days our church practices were in 



18 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

a woeful condition. Influenced on the one hand 
by the various European practices and on the 
other hand by the Reformed Churches in this 
country, the Lutheran Church almost lost its dis- 
tinctive characteristics. Some of the fathers even 
went so far as to disregard such time-honored 
Lutheran practices as catechization and confirma- 
tion, and introduced, instead, the revival system 
of the Methodists. This, of course, brought about 
a deplorable state of affairs and retarded and 
hindered the work of Home Missions. But for- 
tunately the revival of a true Lutheran conscious- 
ness saved the Church from impending ruin. The 
struggle for a true Lutheran church practice was 
long and severe, but it was worth all it cost. With 
a corrupt church practice our Church never could 
have carried on aggressive Home Mission work. 
The results of corrupt church practices are abund- 
ant in the older sections of our Church, and they 
tell a sad tale. Much of our early Home Mission 
work was wrecked on this rock. But the organiza- 
tion of the General Council marks the beginning 
of a general Lutheran consciousness and a truer 
form of church life. While some of the bodies 
had not been contaminated to a large degree, still 
this was a signal for all true Lutherans in this 
country to go back to the historic usages of the, 
Lutheran Church. The advance along this line 
has been quite rapid, and now even the most radi- 
cal synods have a fairly good Lutheran church 
practice. The struggle for pure church practice 



A GENERAL SURVEY 19 

was a long one, but it paved the way for the Home 
Missionary era. An aggressive Home Missionary 
policy, coupled to a corrupt practice, could not 
have succeeded. But the struggle is over. The 
practices have been settled and the Home Mission- 
ary has something definite to bring to his young 
congregation. 

Inner Missions Brought to a Science. 

While our Church has had a hard struggle with 
doctrine, liturgy and church practices, stHl its 
development in this country has not always been 
along American lines. We have been greatly in- 
fluenced from Europe, and this is seen in our 
Inner Mission work more plainly than in any 
other work. Germany was in need of Inner Mis- 
sion work and she developed a science of Inner 
Missions which was necessary and successful in 
Germany. Seeing the good that this was doing in 
Germany, our Church transplanted it to this 
country with the hope and expectation that it 
would meet with the same success here. But the 
Church was doomed to disappointment. The In- 
ner Mission work did not meat with the same 
success, and there was a reason for it: Ger- 
many had no Home Mission problem and con- 
sequently could develop an Inner Mission policy. 
America had a great Home Mission work and 
could not develop a successful Inner Mission 
work before the Home Mission work was done. 



20 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

We do not criticize the Inner Mission movement, 
we believe it is a good thing, but the Church in 
this country made the mistake of putting the cart 
before the horse. It tried to do Inner Mission work 
before it had even systematized its Home Mission 
work, and consequently we have the anomaly of 
possessing a working theory of Inner Missions 
before we have a practicable plan for our greatest 
work — Home Missions. We admire those who are 
interested in Inner Missions, and we pray God's 
greatest blessings upon their labors, but Inner 
Mission work in this country will never succeed, 
as it should, until our Home Mission work is done. 
Good and necessary as Inner Mission work is, still 
it has served to draw the attention of the Church 
away from the larger to the smaller work. How- 
ever, we are thankful for all the good accom- 
plished by the Inner Mission, even if it did retard 
Home Missions for some time. 

A Broad Vision. 

Another necessary preliminary to successful 
Home Mission work was the acquiring of a broad 
vision by the whole Church. Our fathers were 
consecrated men, but, as a rule, they lacked vi- 
sion. The earlier ones came over with the awoved 
purpose of building up a foreign church in this 
land. The Germans believed that they could build 
up a German Church, and the Scandinavians be- 
lieved they could build up a Scandinavian Church. 
Their motives were good. Their work was praise- 



A GENERAL SURVEY 21 

worthy, but their vision was defective. It took 
a long time before the idea of an American Lu- 
theran Church was conceived, and when the idea 
did come into consciousness, it was so distorted 
that it was hardly recognizable. The first vision 
of an American Lutheran Church was that of Lu- 
theran in name but Reformed in life and practice. 
Such a vision could not appeal to our people, and 
it proved to be a barrier rather than a boon. The 
next vision was that of an American Lutheran 
Church which was to do a work for a while, but 
finally co be absorbed by the other denominations. 
Some believed that as long as the immigrants 
came, we would have a work to do, but when they 
and their children became thoroughly American- 
ized, that the Lutheran Church would lose its hold 
upon them. We find this view held by some other- 
wise admirable men. Such a vision as that could 
not produce an aggressive Home Mission policy. 
Missionaries would not endure the hardships of 
the work finally to see their labors swallowed up 
by the other denominations. As late as 1868 it 
was not uncommon to hear some of the leaders 
talk of dissolving the Lutheran Church. In an 
address at the fortieth anniversary of the Board 
of Home and Foreign Missions of the General 
Synod, Rev. G. W. Enders said: "I entered the 
ministry of the General Synod of the Ev. Lutheran 
Church in 1868. I recall the numerical smallness 
and the largely discouraging situation of our Lu- 
theran Church. I heard the old pastors talk of 



22 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

dissolving the Lutheran Church in America and 
uniting with other denominations, for, said they, 
'we will never amount to much in this country.' 
But forty years have passed and with them the 
notes of dissolution and amalgamation/ ' With 
such a spirit it is no wonder that Home Missions 
were not developed into a science. It is only in, 
comparatively, late years that our Church has 
received vision large enough to arouse it to the 
highest Home Mission activity. In recent years 
we, as a Church, have become conscious of the 
fact that we are a large factor in the evangeliza- 
tion of this country. This vision has aroused the 
Church to vigorous activity. The Church as a 
whole has been brought to realize that a large 
portion of our population will never be saved if 
not saved by the Lutheran Church. This is a 
splendid vision and is producing much Home Mis- 
sion activity. We are thankful for this vision, 
but it is not large enough. 

Our Church does not realize its strength, neither 
has it an adequate conception of the work God 
has for it. We believe that the Lutheran Church 
is destined to be the first church in this land. Any 
one that will take time to look can readily see that 
this is the case. For three hundred years our 
Church has been in this land, and all this time 
our doctrines have remained singularly pure. For 
three hundred years we have been making bricks 
for others. Much of our work has gone into other 
churches, but in all this time our leaders have not 



A GENERAL SURVEY 23 

lost heart. Not only that, but in this time God 
has been sending us people by the thousands and 
the tens of thousands. They have been coming 
over to us by the ship load. 

While the other denominations have been af- 
fected on every hand with Higher Criticism, our 
Church has remained untouched. Not only have 
we remained doctrinally pure, not only have we 
been receiving people by the thousands, but in the 
mean time God has been making us rich. Our 
people came to this country poor, but they are 
thrifty and they are fast becoming people of 
means. God is placing into the hands of the Lu- 
theran Church great opportunities. We are des- 
tined to be the first church of America. When 
once our people come to a realization of this 
vision, then we will make progress. Such a vision 
is adequate for a correct theory of Lutheran Home 
Missions and such alone. If the Lutheran Church 
does not intend to take this land for Christ, then 
its Home Mission activities might as well cease 
now as a few years from now. But its activities 
will not cease. This land will be conquered, and 
that riot by proselyting, but by right of pure faith 
and scriptural church practice. The lack of vision 
hindered our Home Mission work, but God is 
raising up among us "seers" with visions great 
and large. 



24 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

The Way Made Ready. 

Not only was it necessary for the Church to 
settle the doctrine, form the liturgy, establish cor- 
rect church practices, and acquire a vision, but 
another thing was necessary — the Church had to 
acquire a fund of missionary experience. There 
had to be much experimenting before the correct 
way of carrying on Home Missions could be dis- 
covered. The Church was not slow in doing this. 
From the very beginning Home Mission work was 
conducted. Hampered by lack of vision, the 
Church was not deterred in its purpose. Seeing 
the spiritual destitution of the thousands, it 
brought unto them the "bread of life" in the ves- 
sels at hand. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Basis and Object of Home Missions. 

The Basis of Home Missions. 
In the Old Testament. 

What authority and precedent have we for car- 
rying on Home Mission work? Is it commanded 
in the Scriptures, or is it only a development in 
church life? We search the Old Testament and 
find little upon which to base our Home Mission 
work. The Jewish conception of spiritual life 
and Jewish forms of church activity were so dif- 
ferent that we can hardly find a parallel. But 
we do find Home Mission conditions. Particularly 
after the Exile we find devout Jews in all the large 
cities of the world. These needed the ministra- 
tions of their religion, and provision was made for 
them. Synagogues were erected, places of prayer 
were established, rabbies ministered unto them 
and thus kept alive their religious faith. We do 
not know what plan the Jews followed in conduct- 
ing this work, but we do know that it was carried 

Lutheran Home Missions. 3 



26 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

on. Gathering up those of the household of faith 
who were away from the ministrations of the 
temple was part of the Jewish economy. We know 
that there were synagogues all over Asia at the 
time Paul went forth to preach. While we do not 
find specific command for Home Mission work in 
the Old Testament, we at least find the precedent 
for such work. 

In the New Testament. 

We look to the New Testament for our com- 
mands and precepts, and we do not look in vain. 
Chrises command and example not only give sanc- 
tion to the work, but they become its initiative. 
On this point we quote Rev. Morris Officer. He 
says: 'The department of Home Missions as a 
separate branch of the whole finds its sanction 
and its type in the personal ministry of our Lord 
on earth, and in the temporary commission of 
the twelve. Christ's own ministry was addressed 
only to the 'lost sheep of the House of Israel,' 
though his message went much farther; and the 
twelve, and also the seventy, were not to 'go into 
the way of the Gentiles, nor into any city of the 
Samaritans,' but were to minister only to the 
same scattered household, in the places 'whither 
the Lord himself would come.' All of the min- 
istrations, therefore, were distinctly limited to the 
home field of the Jewish people; and these high 
examples fully warrant the recognition and in- 
stituting ever of this department of the work." 



THE BASIS AND OBJECT OF HOME MISSIONS 27 

Prof. E. Pfeiffer in his Mission Studies says: 
"Home Mission work comes first in the Biblical 
and natural order of work. The Great Commis- 
sion has been called the Church's 'marching or- 
ders.' So regarded it also points out plainly the 
order of march. Witness is to be borne unto 
Christ for the planting and extension of his king- 
dom in Jerusalem (the home church, parish and 
city missions), and in all Judea and Samaria 
(home missions), and unto the uttermost part of 
the earth (foreign missions). It would be fatal 
folly as well as unfaithfulness to neglect the work 
at our doors in our eagerness to get to distant 
parts. The very nature of the work of missions, 
witnessing for Christ, confessing the faith, 
preaching the Gospel, always leads and must lead 
from center to circumference, from the individual 
believer unto the ends of the earth, and in doing 
so it aims under normal conditions to influence 
all the territory that lies between." 

We find our warrant for Home Mission work in 
Christ's command and example. He was the first 
Home Missionary. In fact his whole ministry was 
a work of Home Missions. He "came unto his 
own." With this high example before us, our 
Church dares not neglect nor despise the work on 
the home field. In fact, if the Church would have 
been filled with the spirit of Christ we would not 
be studying the science of Home Missions at this 
late date. If we would have followed his example 
our Home Mission work would have been done 



28 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

long ago. There is no question about precedent, 
we have the greatest example of the age before 
us: Jesus Christ himself doing Home Mission 
work. The question now is: Will we follow his 
example and do the work? 

The Example of the Apostles. 

Not only have we the command and example of 
the Lord himself, but we have also the example 
of the apostles. It was to them the great commis- 
sion was given, and they understood it, not only 
of the foreign field, but also of the home field. They 
went first unto those of the household of faith and 
afterwards unto those without. They first preached 
the Gospel unto the Jews and afterwards unto the 
Gentiles. "Beginning at Jerusalem," they were to 
go unto the uttermost parts of the earth. Had 
they not first done their Home Missionary work, 
their foreign work would have resulted in utter 
failure. Even when they went outside of their 
own land and began preaching the Gospel, they 
used the Home Mission principle, namely, 
preached to those of the Jewish faith first. When- 
ever Paul went into a new city he first hunted 
up the Jews and preached to them, and whenever 
possible he used them as a nucleus for the Chris- 
tian congregation which he organized. In the 
economy of grace nothing is to be lost. The 
Church is to be planted and grow by gathering 
up the fragments. The scattered Jews in the 
cities and towns of Asia were to become the 



THE BASIS AND OBJECT OF HOME MISSIONS 29 

foundation stones in the new Christian Church, 
and so also are the scattered Lutherans in the 
cities, towns, and rural districts of our country 
to become the pillars of the glorious Church which 
is now being called into existence through our 
Home Mission propaganda. 

The Love of Christ in the Hearts of Believers, 

Whatever precedent we may find in the apostles, 
or in the apostolic Church, the true basis of Home 
lviissions is the love of Christ in the hearts of be- 
lievers. Without this love all forms of church 
activity are impossible. "The love of Christ con- 
straineth us" is the mainspring of Home Mission- 
ary endeavor. When that love is shed abroad in 
our hearts we will not ask whether people are 
worthy of our gifts and labors in their behalf. It 
is not a question whether the scattered brethren 
are worthy or unworthy of our efforts or not, it 
is a question whether the love of Christ is in our 
hearts and constraineth us. The world was not 
worthy of Christ, but "while we were yet sinners, 
he died for the ungodly." The world was not 
worthy of the prophets and apostles whom the 
Lord sent to the perishing, yet they lived and died, 
bearing witness of their Redeemer's name and 
declaring the things that belong to the kingdom 
of God. The world is not worthy to-day of the 
Lord and his faithful servants, still the Saviour's 
command is in force and lays a sacred obligation 



30 LUTHEKAX HOME MISSIONS 

upon our hearts : "Go into all the world and preach 
the Gospel to every creature." 

How about our brethren scattered throughout 
the cities of our eastern, central, and western 
states? How about the strangers who come to 
our shores in large numbers and are rapidly popu- 
lating the great territory of the west and north- 
west? Many feel that they ought to take care of 
their own interests as we take care of ours. They 
are themselves largely at fault. Why do they not 
settle down in districts and cities where churches 
are established ? Why do they leave their churches 
and wander away to spiritually desert and waste 
places and then cry for the bread of life? There 
is doubtless much truth in all this. The conduct 
of many is blameworthy and unaccountable in this 
respect. They will have to answer for their way- 
wardness and contempt of holy things. But the 
objections do not apply in every case. And even 
if they did, this would not excuse the Church for 
neglecting to minister unto the wants of those who 
are unworthy of help. Their waywardness is not 
a justification for our neglect. 

If the love of Christ constraineth us we will 
exercise pity, when justice might censure. When 
we encounter the blind, even though they them- 
selves may have caused their blindness, shall we 
withhold our help and let them fall into the ditch ? 
Shall the destitute appeal to our sympathies in 
vain, even though they are the authors of their 
own destruction? Christ has not dealt with men 



THE BASIS AND OBJECT OF HOME MISSIONS 31 

thus. It is not in this spirit that he deals with us. 
In view of the Saviour's boundless love to us, let 
us not manifest such heartlessness towards our 
fellow-men. The scope of our ability and the ex- 
tent of our opportunity are the measures of our 
duty. Worthy or unworthy, the love of Christ 
constrains us to prosecute the large Home Mission 
endeavor. Our brethren need the Gospel. It is 
within our power to give it to them. Neglect this 
duty, and we deny the faith and are not worthy 
the name we bear. 

The Object of Home Missions. 

Having discovered the basis of Home Missions 
we now ask what is the object of this missionary 
endeavor. For what definite purpose is this work 
carried on? 

To Save Souls. 

Home Missions seek the same results as For- 
eign Missions or any other Christian activity — 
the salvation of souls. The work of the Church 
in all its ramifications is to bring men into the 
kingdom of God. This is the supreme object of 
Home Missions. The scattered brethren in the 
homeland, whoever they may be, wherever they 
may have come from, whatever their present con- 
dition may be, have souls which are precious in 
the sight of the Lord. It is the object of Home 
Missions to garner these precious sheaves into 
God's granary. If this were not the supreme ob- 



32 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

ject, then Home Mission work might as well cease. 
That missionary endeavor which does not save is 
not worth the effort. But Home Mission work 
does save. In fact it is the most successful branch 
of church activity. Going out into the spiritually 
waste places of the land it gathers into God's king- 
dom souls by the hundreds and thousands. The 
history of Home Missions is the story of souls 
being saved. Take away the results of Home 
Missionary endeavor from the Church in this 
country and you rob it of its crowning glory. 
Home Missions have saved more souls than any 
other church activity. Take up the annual re- 
ports of any Lutheran synod and go back twenty 
years and compute the results of Home Mission 
work, and the sum total will be astonishing. 

Home Missionaries go out on the frontier and 
preach the Gospel to those who have wandered 
away from civilization and out of reach of the 
ministrations of the Church. They keep on preach- 
ing the Gospel until it has touched the hearts of 
these frontier men and melted them unto repent- 
ance. And having once brought them under the 
Gospel influence, they do not leave them to them- 
selves to fall back again into old sins, but con- 
tinue to feed and nourish their spiritual life until 
they become men of God. 

Home Missionaries meeTthe^immigrant who has 
come to this country to seek his fortune. They 
come to him in his lonesomeness and poverty 
and proclaim the Gospel of salvation. They 



THE BASIS AND OBJECT OF HOME MISSIONS 33 

come to him when he most needs spiritual help 
and bring to him the sweet message of the Re- 
deemer's love in a strange land. The Home Mis- 
sion work of the Lutheran Church among the im- 
migrants has been its glory. Tens of thousands 
of Christian people throughout this land are in 
the Church of Christ to-day because brought there 
and kept there by Home Mission agencies. 

Not only are Home Missionaries saving men on 
the frontier, not only are they saving the immi- 
grant, but right in the midst of our densest 
population they go and plant the Church and 
gather from the burning precious jewels for the 
Redeemer's crown. In our cities as well as in the 
sparcely settled districts, Home Missionaries have 
established their work and are gathering a won- 
derful harvest. 

The object of Home Missions is the salvation 
of souls and the building up of the Church, and 
the task is being accomplished. Only eternity 
itself can reveal the great good Home Missionaries 
are accomplishing throughout the land. One of 
the glories of heaven will be the praises of the re- 
deemed for the Home Mission work in this land. 

To Build up the Church. 

The work of Home Missions is not done when 
individuals have been brought into proper rela- 
tion with their Master. It seeks also to organize 
these individuals and build up the Church. If 
Home Mission work was simply a matter of con- 



34 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

version it would be a comparatively simple task. 
But that is only the beginning. The one who has 
been brought to the Redeemer must now be built 
up in the faith and placed in proper relation to 
the Church and to his brethren. Home Mission 
work is not simply a matter of gathering together 
an aggregation of Christian people. It must 
mould them into a congregation and set that con- 
gregation into right relations with the whole 
Church. In this way Home Missions build up 
the whole Church. We quote Rev. Morris Officer : 
"It is to invite into the kingdom all those who, 
living in Christian countries, are, in some man- 
ner, made ready for entrance, and then, with the 
cooperation of these, to establish the Gospel ordi- 
nance. It is to bring the partially cultivated field 
to fruitfulness and place it under the immediate 
and permanent care of its own husbandman. It 
is to reenter the waste places, and there to raise 
up anew the Christian Church and provide it with 
a settled ministry. It is to gather again the dis- 
tracted and deserted charge, and bring it to order 
and readiness for the regular pastor. In short, 
it is to take up the unfinished or long impaired 
work at whatever stage or state it may be found 
and carry it forward to its completion in the 
establishment, or re-establishment, of the pastoral 
district. This is the goal of its efforts, the con- 
summation of its designs as a department of labor 

of the Church It should at any rate enter 

every unoccupied place and there make a faithful 



THE BASIS AND OBJECT OF HOME MISSIONS 35 

and earnest endeavor to accomplish its wanted 
work. It is to fill up every vacancy between ex- 
isting pastorates, and then make the limits of one 
adjoin those of another, throughout Christen- 
dom." 



To Nationalize the Church in this Country. 

Lutheran Home Missions not only aim at build- 
ing up the Church, but also at nationalizing the 
Church. The Lutheran Church in this country is 
peculiarly situated. Coming here from Europe 
it has now three grand divisions, namely the 
American, speaking the English language, the 
German, speaking the German language, and the 
Scandinavian, speaking the various Scandinavian 
languages. These three elements all agree on the 
fundamentals of faith, but they are widely diverse 
in national characteristics, temperaments, tradi- 
tions and church polity. To take this heterogene- 
ous mass and mould it into one national Lutheran 
Church is the Herculean task set before Home 
Missions. As the situation now stands we have 
an English Lutheran Church, a German Lutheran 
Church, and a Scandinavian Lutheran Church. A 
moment's reflection will convince anyone that 
this state of affairs cannot continue indefinitely. 
These various nationalities may be able to main- 
tain a distinct and separate existence for years, 
but the final consummation must be an American 
Lutheran Church. If the Lutheran Church is to 



36 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

do the work which God has given it to do, it must 
become nationalized. It cannot live forever under 
the stars and stripes dominated by foreign tradi- 
tions, foreign sentiments and foreign methods. 
It must be nationalized to become the Church of 
the American people. This undoubtedly will be 
a long, tedious task. It will take years and years. 
It will take generations to complete the work. 

The necessity of nationalizing the Church was 
in the minds of some of our Home Mission leaders 
years ago. We quote at length from Rev. W. A. 
Passavant. He recognized the necessity and dif- 
ficulties when he said: "But to nationalize the 
Church requires more than strength of numbers. 
It means gradually to unify its polyglot masses 
as much by a common language and spirit as by 
a common faith and service. This has been the 
aim and constant prayer and effort of those who 
love the Lutheran Church and sincerely believe 
that it has a grand role to play in the ecclesiastical 
history of America. The General Council pur- 
posed from the beginning that the different lan- 
guages and nationalities 'should be firmly knit 
together in this New World in the unity of one 
and the same pure faith.' Although including 
some American, but strong German and Scandi- 
navian elements, yet English was made the of- 
ficial language of the Council, and it has been its 
English books and publications, both private and 
official, that irresistibly indicate to those both in 
and out of the Church that this is the Body 



THE BASIS AND OBJECT OF HOME MISSIONS 37 

whose fidelity to Truth, and aggressiveness in 
spreading it through its Home Missions, is to 
make the Lutheran Church develop into a great 
national communion. 

"The prime importance of this English work 
in the mission field, and the strong claims upon 
every lover of the truth to his recognition and 
liberal support, become at once evident. Not the 
mere aiding of a mission in far off Seattle, or the 
support of an English Lutheran enterprise in Salt 
Lake City is asked for, but the co-operation of 
all in thus bringing, in these and a dozen other 
places, Lutheran truth and consistency and rev- 
erence for the Word to the notice of and recogni- 
tion by such representative communities which 
know our Church otherwise only as a foreign and 
hence often despised communion. Of course it 
does more than this. Our scattered people are 
gathered in, strangers to God and church are res- 
cued, a reflex impulse is given to Christian ac- 
tivity at home that is felt through every depart- 
ment of work in the older congregations, to say 
nothing of the influence of example upon our 
brethren of the same faith, but different language, 
and in stirring them up to provide their own chil- 
dren with church privileges in the language of 
the land. The Board of Home Missions fully 
realizes how much is involved in steadily pushing 
to success our present important missions in the 
West and is greatly enlarging their number and 
scope .... If we are rational enough to improve 



38 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

our present splendid opportunities we will soon 
become national in our power as a Church to make 
and sway the religious convictions of the country." 

To Save the Country. 

Another supreme work before Home Missions 
is that of saving our country. It is conceded by 
all that our country is facing a crisis of momen- 
tous importance. We have had our struggle for 
liberty. We have fought our battles for national 
unity, but we are now going through an industrial 
crisis which will shake our nation to the very 
foundation. The present industrial changes are 
the throes from which a new civilization is to be 
born. The present industrial crisis is doomed to 
shake our moral fiber to the very root. If the 
Church cannot hold up the moral life of our people 
we are destined to quick disintegration. Indus- 
trial changes have brought about the migration 
of nations which threatens to engulf our country. 
It has also developed a worldly spirit of freedom 
and justice. Home Mission must overcome both 
tendencies. In regard to the first, Rev. Chas. W. 
Heisler says : "We have in this land a most hetero- 
geneous complexity of population . . . We have been 
receiving within our borders a motly throng of 
Englishmen and Irishmen, of Scotchmen and 
Welshmen, of German and Dutch, of French and 
Russian, of Laps and Poles, of Bulgarians and 
Hungarians, of Austrians and Italians, of Swiss 
and Servians, of Spanish and Portuguese, of 



THE BASIS AND OBJECT OF HOME MISSIONS 39 

Greeks and Armenians, of Turks and Arabians, 
of Hindoos and Persians, of Egyptians and Ethi- 
opians, of Chinese and Japanese, besides stran- 
gers from the isles of the sea. And the problem 
is to amalgamate at least the most of these diverse 
elements into a strong homogeneous people. That 
means that we are here developing a new national 
type. It is not English or German, or Anglo- 
Saxon even; it is American, a new unique type. 
Some of the strongest nationalities of history have 
been composite. Now to my mind the two most 
potent forces in this marvelous process of amalga- 
mation are the public school and the Christian 
Church. The children of these diverse races un- 
der the same educational process are being mould- 
ed into national homogeneity. The Christian 
Church is accomplishing the same results in her 
sanctuaries and through the influence of Chris- 
tian social life. And no Protestant Church in 
this country has so large and important a part 
to play in the process as the Lutheran. Her 
responsibility here is unspeakable. Have we suf- 
ficiently realized this ? She has been meeting this 
obligation to some extent by caring for the chil- 
dren of her own household of faith and by some 
feeble effort to reach the unsaved masses." 

These various nationalities must be amalga- 
mated into American citizens, and they must be 
kept Christian when they are Christianized ; when 
they are not they must be Christianized. This 
latter work is the duty of the Home Missions, and 



40 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

no other church in the land has such a responsi- 
bility as our Lutheran Church. If these incoming 
multitudes are not Americanized, then our insti- 
tutions are doomed to decay, and if they are not 
Christianized our Church is doomed to die. Either 
thing would prove disastrous to this land. Home 
Missions must save the country. 

Other perils before our country are: material- 
ism, indifference and formalism. These are 
threatening the very existence of the country and 
of the Church. Home Mission will take a large 
part in saving the country from their baneful in- 
fluence. Speaking of these perils Rev. L. M. Zim- 
mermann, D. D., says: "One of the great perils 
is that of materialism. Our country is becoming 
more and more a moneyed monarchy. Money is 
a great idol in America, Perhaps in no country 
does money count for so much as in this country. 
In some other countries a man's position counts 
for much, but here it is largely, 'What is he 
worth?' that is, in dollars and cents rather than 
in character and good morals. Money is the great 
passport into the high circles of society rather 
than character. 

"Belshazzarism is another peril which threatens 
the peace and safety of our nation. There is a 
pace that kills, and among many of the rising gen- 
eration can be found that pace, There are halls 
to-day as infamous, and occupied by as select a 
people as in the time of Belshazzar, where scenes 
no less objectionable are being enacted. And, 



THE BASIS AND OBJECT OF HOME MISSIONS 41 

worst of it all, it is regarded as being all right, 
notwithstanding the fact that one vies with the 
other at the intoxicating cup until all sense of just 
propriety is gone. 

"Indifferentism is still another peril which 
threatens the spiritual life of the people of to-day. 
There was a time when, for example, the Wednes- 
day evening service in the church was held sacred 
by many. To-day, the lodge, the club, societies, 
pleasures, are so crowding in that it is scarcely 
worthy in many places of being called a church 
night. The same is true with many as regards 
their sense of obligation to God and the church 
on the Lord's day. Room for everything else than 
for Christ is the condition of not a few. 

"Formalism is also a peril with many. There 
is danger of following God in a mere formal man- 
ner, instead of worshiping him in spirit and truth. 
Not enough to-day are born of the Spirit and too 
many are following 'afar off/ Even the parents 
lost sight of their Child on their return from 
Jerusalem, and there are many like them to-day, 
who have lost the Christ Child and are apparently 
unconscious of the fact. We need, therefore, to 
be cautious lest unawares we too lose him. We 
need to follow close by his side that, like the 
woman of old who touched him, we too may re- 
ceive virtue from him and be healed of all our 
diseases/' 

It is the task of Home Mission work to meet 
these perils and overcome them. Undoubtedly 

Lutheran Home Missions. 4 



42 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

then Home Mission work has become a patriotic 
work. It is not simply a matter of saving the 
individual and communities, but it has before it 
the supreme task of saving the nation. To crip- 
ple or retard Home Mission work handicaps the 
Church and imperils the nation. Home Missions 
must save this land. 

To Strengthen Foreign Missions. 

Home Mission work is not an enemy but a friend 
of all other church activity. Foreign Missions have 
been given the preeminence, but this has been a 
mistake. While all nations are to be brought un- 
der the influence of the Gospel, still those in the 
homeland must come first. Home Mission work 
has for its object the strengthening of Foreign 
Missions. Foreign Missions cannot be maintained 
without a base of supplies, and Home Missions 
become this base of supplies. We give the words 
of Rev. Chas. S. Albert on this point: "The base 
of supplies for Foreign Missions is Home Mis- 
sions. Every Home Mission congregation prop- 
erly trained becomes an important factor in the 
foreign mission work. The membership from the 
beginning are instructed to contribute to Foreign 
Missions, and after they reach self-support, num- 
bers of them are among the most liberal givers 
to the foreign cause. 'If you limit your base of 
supplies you cripple your outside efforts/ It is 
well for all of us to remember this. The base of 
supplies for all our work — educational, minis- 



THE BASIS AND OBJECT OF HOME MISSIONS 43 

terial, mission and benevolent — is the congrega- 
tion. If the congregations are strong, all the in- 
terests of the Church thrive; if they increase in 
numbers, the whole work broadens and moves 
forward in every direction, provided always the 
spiritual power be maintained. 

"The Home Mission work deals directly with 
the base of supplies. If we subtract the missions 
of the last quarter of a century, how much of 
the active strength of the Church disappears. 
These mission churches have furnished us noble 
ministers and large contributions to the enterprise 
of the Church. Our work without them would 
be but a portion of what it now is. Let me en- 
force this by an allusion to our foreign field, and 
this in a spirit of love for that work. Our foreign 
work increases; the resources from the mission 
field are scanty. Indian Christians are poor and 
can contribute but a small fraction of the funds 
necessary for their support. Little can be ex- 
pected from them for some time to come. The 
financial support must be provided by the churches 
in this country. Unless we can rapidly extend 
our home work, the increasing demands, just and 
necessary, can not be met. The base of supplies 
will be too limited to meet the requirements. We 
ought not to do less for Foreign Missions. We 
ought to do more. But we must, in the broad- 
mindedness of a Church looking to the future, 
realize the absolute need to press our home work 
vigorously. Gifts to the home field are, in an in- 



44 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

direct way, gifts to every benevolent enterprise 
of the Church. The base of supplies is enlarged 
and increased ; help, therefore, can be sent wher- 
ever it is wanted." 

To Promote Inner Missions. 

Home Missions promote Inner Missions. In- 
ner Missions cannot exist without a strong church 
constituency behind it and a strong sense of duty 
towards the submerged and downtrodden. In its 
work of building up and developing the Church, 
Home Missions gather this strong constituency 
and develop this strong sense of duty. Until 
Home Mission work has first been done, Inner 
Missions are handicapped. That is the reason why 
Inner Mission work has made such slow progress 
in this country. Inner Mission work follows and 
is dependent upon Home Missions. We have been 
trying to do Inner Mission work to the neglect 
of Home Missions and consequently have almost 
made a failure. 

The Home Mission work does not simply aim 
at promoting certain forms of church activity, 
but its object is to advance all kinds of Christian 
work and Christian philanthropy. Home Mission 
work is foreign to no form of church work that 
will promote and advance the kingdom of God. It 
is the handmaiden of all, and renders its service in 
the spirit of love and obedience. When the object 
of church activity is the poor and outcast, Home 
Missions do their duty. Is the endeavor along the 



THE BASIS AND OBJECT OF HOME MISSIONS 45 

line of education, Home Missions lift up their 
voices. Is the work with the immigrant, Home 
Missions are the first to take him by the hand. 
Unlike other branches of church work Home Mis- 
sions cover the whole field of Christian activity. 



CHAPTER. III. 

The Importance of Home Missions. 

This country is not yet taken for Christ. There 
are more than 40,000,000 people in this land who 
have no active connection with the Church. These 
millions must be saved. They must be brought 
into the Church of Christ, and it is the work of 
Home Missions to do this. 

Again Home Mission work assumes its import- 
ance from the fact that this is the very essence of 
mission endeavor. It is fundamental to the life of 
the Church and becomes in this land the center of 
all advancement. Neglect Home Mission work in 
this land and all other Christian activities will 
come to a standstill. It was Prof. Austin Phelps 
who said : "I confess that the home work does loom 
up before me with a painful and threatening mag- 
nitude which suggests the query whether it is 
reasonable to expect much expansion of the For- 
eign service before the home field is more thor- 
oughly mastered. There is a law of give and take 
in these things which is as inexorable in the work 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HOME MISSIONS 47 

of the world's conversion as in any other. We 
cannot convert foreign lands without a certain 
amount of spiritual power at home. We cannot 
give what we have not received. And the power 
at home must come from a broader and deeper 
spiritual culture : and this demands time, money, 
labor, and prayer. 'Beginning at Jerusalem/ such 
was our Lord's direction to the apostles at the 
outset of the great work, and this is the central 
law of missions for all time. We must keep the 
home work well in hand and uplifted above all 
chance of failure." 

Home Missions serve to Maintain the Numerical 
Strength of the Church. 

Home Mission work assumes importance be- 
cause it serves to maintain the numerical strength 
of the Church. From the early days our popula- 
tion has been unsettled. People with active church 
connection have moved away in search of adven- 
ture and fortune. The Church was not established 
where they settled and soon they degenerated mor- 
ally and spiritually. This migration always af- 
fected the home church. Often its membership 
was so depleted that it stood on the verge of ruin. 
It was Home Missions that followed up these wan- 
derers into their new homes and established the 
numerical strength of the Church and secured it 
from disintegration and ruin. The history of 
the Church in the Middle and far West is the story 
of gathering into congregations those who wan- 



48 LUTHERAN HOME MIS8IONS 

dered away from the home church. The early 
home missionaries preached almost exclusively to 
those who at one time had been in connection 
with the Church. Gathering these together and 
organizing them into congregations is the work 
of the missionaries, and in doing this they con- 
serve the membership of the Church. 

Home Missions render the Past Labors of the 
Church Available. 

In gathering up the strayed ones, Home Mis- 
sions render the past labors of the Church avail- 
able. In the Kingdom of God the rule is, "Gather 
up the fragments, that nothing may be lost." 
This law Home Missions observe. Those who wan- 
dered away had been the object of the Church's 
labors and love. They had been baptized, they 
had been instructed in God's Word, they had been 
confirmed, and the "bread of life" had been broken 
unto them. It would have been an everlasting- 
disgrace for all this labor and love to have been 
wasted. But when it seems that all is lost, Home 
Missions step in and by their ministrations ren- 
der these past labors of love available. Starting 
upon the basis of past instruction and a former 
religious consciousness, it saves these people 
from spiritual ruin. Appealing to former train- 
ing and experiences, Home Missions establish 
the Gospel ministrations in their midst. In doing 
this they not only save these people but conserve 
the former labors of the Church and make them 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HOME MISSIONS 49 

effective. Home Missions render the past labors 
of the Church available. 

Serve to Extend the Church into New wnd Fresh 

Fields. 

The tendency of the Church is to localize and 
root itself into the very soil. Where the whole 
land has been covered this is a good thing, for 
it gives permanency to the Church. But where 
the whole land has not been reached the Church 
must project itself into new fields. Here Home 
Missions find a field. The missionaries go out on 
the frontier and proclaim the Gospel of salvation. 
Under trees, in cabins, in barns, in roughly built 
chapels or wherever men congregate, they preach 
the tidings of salvation. Wherever there are 
people without the Church they enter. In the 
newer sections of the West, in depleted sections of 
the East, in large cities, and in the growing towns 
Home Missions bring the Gospel ministrations. 
The motto is, "The Church must be planted." 
Home Missions saved the great Northwest to the 
Union, and are now saving the people of the 
Northwest to Christ. But the West and North- 
west are not the only Home Mission fields. All 
over this land there are waste places where Home 
Missions must plant the church. Into these fields 
Home Missions must enter and labor until the 
Church blooms forth as the rose of Sharon. The 
progress of the Church in this land has been the 
progress of Home Mission activity. It has been 



50 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

estimated that from four-fifths to nine-tenths of 
the evangelical Churches in the United States are 
of Home Mission origin. During the last century 
the membership of Protestant Churches in this 
country increased on an average no less than three 
times as fast as the population, and the increase 
was the direct result of Home Mission work. In 
the Lutheran Church, the increase in communicant 
members was from 22,000 in 1800 to over 2,500,- 
000 in 1913. Its proportionate increase has been 
larger in the last decade than that of any other 
Christian denomination, Protestant or Roman 
Catholic. Such results are due to its great Home 
Mission work. 

Maintain and Increase the Means of the Church. 

In its work of saving mankind, the Church must 
have means. Money is an important element in 
advancing the Kingdom of God. Although the 
Church does not compute its labors in money val- 
ues, still, without money it is impossible to carry 
on the work. It is no small part of the Church's 
work to secure funds with which to extend its 
influence. Here again this activity is the hand- 
maiden of the Church. By its labors it main- 
tains and increases the means of the Church. 
Every new mission congregation is a new fountain 
of supply for the benevolent causes of the Church. 
While every other cause of the Church is import- 
ant and ought to be sustained, yet it must be con- 
ceded that Home Mission work is the fundamental 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HOME MISSIONS 51 

cause of all benevolent work. If our Church will 
push Home Missions and make them first and suc- 
cessful, then every other cause will have a broad 
and strong basis on which to operate. If Home 
Missions are slighted, then all benevolent work 
must suffer. 

Home Missions not only increase the money 
revenues of the Church, but they increase and 
strengthen its other agencies. Money is not all. 
Workers are necessary, and Home Missions sup- 
ply workers. As the Church is extended at home 
more ministers are needed, and this leads to the 
founding and enlargement of institutions of learn- 
ing for the preparation and training of the work- 
men that are needed. This was the way in which 
many of our seminaries and colleges came into 
existence. The Mission cause was the immediate 
occasion that called them into being and supplied a 
continual incentive for their better equipment and 
extension. And the mission congregations have 
furnished a large contingent of the ministerial 
candidates. In like manner they have supplied 
and continue to supply both men and money for 
the extension ol the work in foreign fields. 

The Most Economical Branch of Service. 

The importance of Home Missions can also be 
seen in this that it is the most economical branch 
of service that the Church can operate. Of course 
it takes money to carry on the work. The Church 
must invest much in Home Missions. But the 



52 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

number of souls gathered into the fold and the 
amount contributed to the general work as a re- 
sult of Home Mission endeavor is larger than 
that of any other branch of church work. Usu- 
ally it is only a few years until a mission becomes 
self-supporting and then it becomes most liberal 
in its gifts to the general work of the Church. This 
is not only true of individual congregations, but 
it is true of whole groups of them. In fact, we 
might lay it down as one of the axioms of Home 
Mission work, that to help a mission congrega- 
tion is to help the whole cause of the Kingdom, 
and that in a geometrical ratio. Mission congre- 
gations pay high dividends upon the money in- 
vested in them. In proof of this we cite the 
experience of the General Synod. "The expen- 
diture of $944,775.00 for the support of 585 mis- 
sions, nearly six hundred congregations, during 
these forty years of the Board's history repre- 
sents merely the investment of its capital. On 
the basis of this original investment, the people 
who were gathered into these missions, even while 
they were still under the care of the Board, con- 
tributed a round five million dollars for church 
purposes, a quarter of a million of which found 
its way back into the benevolent treasuries of 
the General Synod. A business man would call 
that kind of an investment a bonanza. But that 
is not a full statement of the account. To these 
five million dollars must be added many millions 
more which have been contributed by these mis- 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HOME MISSIONS 53 

sion churches after they have reached the posi- 
tion of self-support More than one-third 

of the entire contributions of the General Synod 
last year must be credited as a legitimate return 
from that original investment of the Home Mis- 
sion Board. And in addition to these large finan- 
cial returns there stand incalculable spiritual re- 
sults, the real end of all Home Mission effort." 
These same results have been equalled in every 
other synod in the country. In comparison with 
Foreign Missions, Home Missions are far superior 
from an economical point of view. When For- 
eign Missions make a convert, as a rule he be- 
comes a charge and the mission must in some 
way make provision for his livelyhood. But when 
Home Missions make a convert he at once adds 
strength to the Church. Instead of being a charge 
he becomes a supporter of the mission and of all 
redemptive agencies of the Church. Undoubted- 
ly Home Mission work pays. 

Are of the Greatest Importance when the Church 

is Scattered. 

Home Missions reach their highest importance 
when the Church has been scattered. Rev. Morris 
Officer puts tnis truth in plain words when he 
says: "When the Church, by some potent agency 
from without, has been torn, wasted and scat- 
tered, requiring a re-gathering of its members, 
or when by embracing some elements foreign to 
its own nature it has been convulsed and rent 



54 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

asunder so as to need reorganization, then this 
branch of service is in special demand. Or when 
civil society itself has been upheaved from its 
very foundations, and cleft and tossed into chaos ; 
or when a population has been much shifted about 
and its movements greatly changed and reversed, 
so as to require readjustment, then especially 
should the Home Mission arm of the church be 
put forth in strong and well directed efforts to 
maintain its own footing amid the general wreck 
and to settle into right position the loosened and 
floating elements of society." 

In this respect Home Missions have rendered 
valuable service to this country. Of all the na- 
tions of the world none are so deeply indebted 
to Home Missions as our own. To this agency 
of the Church she owes practically everything 
that has made her queen of the nations. A little 
more than two hundred years ago the population 
of the United States was less than 200,000 and 
confined to the Atlantic coast. But the spirit of 
adventure was "bred in the bone" of this people, 
and soon adventurers like Boone and Crawford 
began to lead the way to the West. After the 
treaty of Fort Stanvix in 1768 a perfect stream 
of hardy pioneers poured through the defiles of 
the Alleghenys and began to take up the rich 
farming land of the Ohio and Mississippi basins. 
Some came from American homes; many more 
came from lands across the sea. To follow these 
people with the Gospel, gather them into regular 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HOME MISSIONS 55 

congregations, and hold the new world securely 
for Christ was the work of Home Missions. And 
no great undertaking of the Church was ever car- 
ried out more successfully. The story of the 
great Northwest is the same as that of the Mid- 
dle West. When the settlers came pouring into 
the great Northwest the Home Missionary came 
close behind. The gathering of these people into 
the Christian Church and saving this part of our 
country for Christ is one of the great chapters in 
the history of our nation. Unpretentious as were 
these home missionaries they did a great work 
for this land. Our country owes much to Home 
Missions. 

President Cleveland saw the importance of 
Home Missions to our country when he said: "I 
desire to express my appreciation of the privilege 
of participating in this conference and of the op- 
portunity thus afforded me of testifying to the 
value arid usefulness of the work undertaken by 
Home Missions. As your fellow-citizen, interest- 
ed, I hope, in all things that deepen the religious 
sentiments of our people and enlarge Christian 
influence, I fully realize the transcendent import- 
ance of this agency in its operations upon the 
hearts of men for the salvation of their souls. 
The long roster of those who have been led into 
the way of righteousness through the instrumen- 
tality of our Home Missions are rich trophies of 
successful endeavor. But it is not only as your 
fellow-citizen, but as the chief executive officer 



56 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

of your government, that I desire to speak, for I 
am entirely certain that I serve well our entire 
people, whose servant I am, when I here testify 
to the benefit our country has received through 
Home Missionary effort, and when I join you in 
an attempt to extend and strengthen that effort." 

The Peculiar Situation of the Lutheran Church 
in this Country. 

Home Missions are more important to the Lu- 
theran Church than to any other church in the 
land. Here a new chapter in the world's history 
is being written; a new era has opened; new 
forces are working. Here a new type of civiliza- 
tion is being formed, and in God's providence the 
Lutheran Church is destined to be an important 
factor in this new development. The peculiar 
situation of the Lutheran Church in this country 
makes it possible for this Church to be such an 
important factor in its future development. The 
Lutheran Church did not come to America 
through love of gold, lust of power, or fondness 
for adventure. It was driven here through per- 
secutions. The Dutch of New York, the Pala- 
tines of Pennsylvania and the Salzburgers of 
Georgia prized their faith above worldly posses- 
sions, and the price they paid for it was banish- 
ment from home and country. The Lutheran 
Church is here not of its own choice, but by divine 
arrangement. It is here to stay, and it is des- 
tined to become the strongest factor in evangeliz- 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HOME MISSIONS 57 

ing this nation. Dr. H. E. Jacobs says: "Hither 
where all these forces are centering, God has 
brought hundreds of thousands of these who con- 
fess the faith of Luther, and are entrusted with 
its maintenance. The old tree has been trans- 
planted to a new soil. Separated by national lines 
in Europe, and by- still narrower boundaries of 
petty principalities, each with its own state 
Church, into which Germany was divided until 
a generation ago, here they blend within a gen- 
eration or two into one body. The sole bond 
which unites them is the old faith which was 
confessed when the theses were fixed on the doors 
of the Castle Church of Wittenberg. The Lu- 
theran Church in America stands not for a pro- 
vincial Lutheranism but for an ecumenical 

Lutheranism in which these lines which divide 
Lutheranism in the Old World vanish. . . . Con- 
sidering then the place which Providence has 
assigned America among the nations of the world, 
and the place He has given the Lutheran Church 
in America, can we doubt as to what the meaning 
of our peculiar position in this land is? Is it 
not to affirm that the truths for which Luther 
stood are not obsolete or antiquated, but just as 
live and life-giving as when in his youth they 
silenced opposition and won men's hearts." We 
cannot refrain from quoting the words of Pres- 
ident Roosevelt in this connection. "There is a 
peculiar function to be played by the great Lu- 
theran Church in the United States. The Lu- 

Lutheran Home Missions. 5 



58 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

theran Church came to this territory which is now 
the United States very shortly after the first per- 
manent settlements were made within our limits ; 
for when the earliest settlers came to dwell around 
the mouth of the Delaware they brought the 
Lutheran worship with them; and so with the 
earliest German settlers who came to Pennsyl- 
vania and afterwards to New York and the moun- 
tainous regions of the western part of Virginia 
and the states south of it. From that day to 
this the history of the growth in population of 
this nation has consisted largely, in some respect 
mainly, of the arrival of successive waves of new 
comers to our shores, and the prime duty of those 
already in the land is to see that their progress 
and development are shared by these new com- 
ers. It is a serious and dangerous thing for any 
man to tear loose from the soil, from the region 
in which he and his forbears have taken root, 
and to be transplanted into a new land. He 
should receive all possible aid in that new land, 
and the aid can be tendered him most effectively 
by those who can appeal to him on the grounds 
of spiritual kinship. Therefore the Lutheran 
Church can do most in helping upwards and on- 
wards so many of the newcomers to our shores, 
and it seems to me that it should be, I am temp- 
ted to say, well nigh the prime duty of this 
Church to see that the immigrant, especially the 
immigrant of Lutheran faith from the Old World, 
who comes from Scandinavia or Germany, or 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HOME MISSIONS 59 

whether he belongs to one of the Lutheran coun- 
tries of Finland, or Hungary, or Austria, may not 
be suffered to drift off with no friendly hand 
extended to him, out of all church communion, 
away from all the influences that tend towards 
safeguarding and uplifting him, and that he find 
ready at hand in this country those eager to 
bring him into fellowship with the existing bod- 
ies. The Lutheran Church in this country is a 
very great power. It is destined to be one of 
the two or three greatest churches and most im- 
portant national churches in the United States, 
one of the two or three churches distinctly Amer- 
ican, among the forces that are to tell for making 
this great country even greater in the near fu- 
ture. Therefore, a peculiar load of responsibil- 
ity rests upon the members of this Church/' 

The Great Opportunity for Home Mission Work 
by the Lutheran Church. 

There are crises in the affairs of the churches 
as in those of nations and individuals, times when 
the opportunity is ripe, times when "a great door 
and effectual" stands wide open. To-day the Lu- 
theran Church in America stands face to face 
with such a crisis. God appeals to it by every 
consideration that is calculated to move men to 
enthusiasm to follow after and care for its chil- 
dren. They have been coming like a flood. These 
children are becoming the men and women who 
work the farms, fill the shops, conduct the trade, 



€0 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

control the wealth, shape the politics, mould the 
society and support the churches in new com- 
munities which are springing up with marvel- 
ous rapidity in every part of our newer states. 
They are Lutheran now and Lutheran they desire 
to remain. Did God ever offer a Church an op- 
portunity fraught with greater promise? It is 
no exaggeration to say that He has placed be- 
fore us the possibility of becoming the first, both 
in number and influence, among the Protestant 
denominations of this land. 

The Lutheran Church is waking up to its won- 
derful opportunities. It is becoming conscious of 
its numbers and strength. There are in Amer- 
ica 13,000,000 citizens of Lutheran stock. There 
are 2,250,000 communicants. Gathered in our 
congregations and Sunday-schools are about 5,- 
000,000 souls. What a force! Canada is becom- 
ing an inviting Home Mission field white unto 
the harvest. The United States from the lakes 
to the gulf, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
is rich with abounding opportunities for Lu- 
theran Home Missions. There are about 50,000- 
000 of unchurched Americans that need our im- 
mediate care. Millions are coming to America 
in a constant stream of immigration from the 
Lutheran lands of Europe. They need and de- 
serve our aid to gather them into the church of 
their birth. 

No Church in this land has a tithe of the res- 
ponsibility that is ours. Opportunities for Home 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HOME MISSIONS 61 

Mission work are phenomenal. Our field stretch- 
es from ocean to ocean, from northern lakes to 
southern gulf. The great cities of the East con- 
tain hosts of unchurched Lutherans who rightly 
look to us for ministrations of the Gospel. The 
West might almost be denominated Lutheran 
home mission territory. Some time ago a leader 
in the great Seminary Missionary Movement 
said: "The Lutheran Church in America has a 
work that no other church can do, and an oppor- 
tunity unparallelled and beyond estimation." Our 
wide awake neighbors say: "If only the Luther- 
an Church knew its opportunity, it could soon 
lead the churches of this country in numbers." 

Dr. G. W. Sandt, editor of "The Lutheran," 
is author of the statement: "There are more lost 
or unchurched Lutherans in New York and Chi- 
cago than all the Lutherans in any city of Ger- 
many or Scandinavia, if we except Berlin. There 
are more people of German lineage in America 
to-day than people from the British Empire. 
England furnished America with her language 
and her laws; but Germany and Scandinavia are 
furnishing the citizens. Take the German blood 
out of the arteries of the two greatest states of 
the Union ; then consider what you have left ! In 
New York City alone there is a German city of 
the size of Hamburg, and two-thirds of them are 
of Lutheran extraction. In Chicago there is a 
Scandinavian city of the size of Stockholm, and 
in the country there are 3,000,000 of these fair- 



62 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

haired and sturdy sons of the North. One-half 
of them are in the Lutheran fold, and the other 
half are either in the denominations or out in 
the world. Take the people of Germany and Scan- 
dinavia, and hence chiefly of Lutheran extrac- 
tion, out of the great Mississippi basin, and you 
remove fully one-half of the clergy, the doctors, 
the lawyers, the legislators, the teachers, the pu- 
pils, the farmers, the merchants, the mechanics 
and all that gives that great section of our coun- 
try its chief stability and strength. While New 
England Puritans and Puritanism are fast becom- 
ing a memory, Germans and Scandinavians with 
their large families are filling the depleted ranks 
and furnishing a fresh background for New Eng- 
land's future history. If the white man's bur- 
dens are the oppressed rcxes of the earth, the 
Lutheran Church's burden in this country is her 
unchurched population." 

That the opportunity is before the Church no 
one denies. The question is, will the Church 
rise to the occasion, sieze the opportunity and 
make the most of it? Is the Church ready to 
discharge the obligations God has laid upon it? 
Is the Church ready to make the sacrifices neces- 
sary to the discharge of its great home mission 
opportunity? The sacrifices God demands of his 
people are different in different periods of the 
Church's development. To the present genera- 
tion of Lutherans in this country He has com- 
mitted the work of Home Missions, a work 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HOME MISSIONS 63 

fraught with great sacrifices, but holding out 
also the assurance of a glorious recompense. 
Viewed simply as a matter of policy there is 
no channel into which the energies of our Church 
could be turned that would yield such abundant 
and permanent fruits. Does the Church realize 
its opportunity and attendant responsibility? 
Where is the Lutheran who is not smitten with 
shame when he contrasts the magnitude of the 
work set before the Church with the poverty of 
our means and the feebleness of our efforts? On 
every hand we are confronted by the humiliating 
fact that our Church has undertaken but little 
and often wrought without wisdom. 

One of the great drawbacks to the work has 
been synodical rivalry. Again and again we have 
been confronted with the deplorable spectacle of 
one section bending all its energies to pull down 
what another section was laboring to build up. 
Shall this state of affairs continue? Does the 
Lutheran Church intend to take hold of its Home 
Mission opportunity with determination and ser- 
iousness? The answer must be given soon. If 
we would discharge the obligation God has im- 
posed upon us, we must seek to awaken a deeper 
and more intelligent interest among the laity. We 
want more of that enthusiasm for Home Missions 
that can make sacrifices. We must stop quarrel- 
ing among ourselves and seek to unite our forces 
upon some basis that will admit of hearty co- 
operation. The synod that dares interpose ob- 



64 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

stacles, or lend only a half-hearted assistance, 
ought to die, and every true Lutheran, whether 
minister or layman, ought to help kill it. 

The Great Responsibility which Rests upon the 

Church. 

Our opportunities for Home Mission work 
bring with them corresponding responsibilities. 
Does the Church realize this responsibility? And 
what are we doing to meet it? There is no other 
Church in this land with a like opportunity, and 
there is no Church upon which God has laid great- 
er responsibility. Dr. J. M. Reimensnyder sums 
up the responsibility of the Church in these 
words: "This work (Home Missions) presents 
itself with greatly increased responsibility upon 
the Evangelical Lutheran Church. 

First. She has the greatest responsibility be- 
cause she is the mother Church of the Protestant 
Reformation, and from her founders came the 
great Magna Charta of Christian faith and liber- 
ty: The Augsburg Confession, the basis of the 
creeds of Christendom and of civilization. 

Second. Because she is largely the Church of 
the Fatherland and the countries from which so 
many of the immigrants come. She is joined to 
them by the ties of nativity and of historic faith. 

Third. Because no other Church can carry on 
the work in more than two or three languages, 
whilst the Lutheran Church is one of many 
tongues, doing home missionary work in this 
country in some nineteen languages. 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HOME MISSIONS 65 

And finally. Because of her purity of faith 
and her noble confession, her Biblical foundation 
and her beauty and flexibility of worship, she is 
best adapted to the wants of a diversified popu- 
lation. 

Some of the most able theologians of other 
Churches have openly said that if there is ever to 
be a union of the branches of the Church of Christ 
it will have to be upon the basis of the great 
Lutheran Confessions. They are the most clearly 
Biblical and free from human dogma or method. 
These reasons as well as many others already 
point to the Lutheran Church as the great agent 
in this country for home missionary labor." 

Our Church has a great mission to perform in 
this country, and the call is most pressing and 
urgent to the young men in our schools. To them 
the call comes to shoulder the responsibility and 
endure hardships as faithful soldiers. 

But the call is not only to the candidates for 
the ministry, but to every member of the Church. 
The laymen are called on to come forward with 
the means God has given them and second the 
efforts of God's ambassador, so that the work 
be not hindered nor the cause suffered to languish 
for want of support. The call for Home Mission 
work is coming from every quarter. Thousands 
are crying to the Lutheran Church for the bread 
of life. They are stretching pleading hands. They 
are asking for pastors to come and feed them 
with knowledge and understanding. Our Church 



66 THE FIELD OF HOME MISSIONS 

dare not turn a deaf ear to these pleadings. We 
have the men and we have the means. We must 
qualify the one and consecrate the other. There 
must be no holding back on the part of those 
who have talents, nor on the part of those who 
have means. A high responsibility and a holy 
mission is before the Church. May we not hope 
that it will push itself to the front of the Lord's 
embattling hosts and maintain its place in Home 
Mission work? The Church is waking up. The 
day of victory is not far distant. 

The Weakening of the Revival System. 

Another thing which makes Home Missions so 
important to the Lutheran Church is the weak- 
ening of the other denominations through the 
failure of the revival system and the baneful 
influence of destructive Higher Criticism. It was 
Dr. G. W. Sandt who said, "We need not detract 
from what other communions have done in this 
country to save souls, to combat public evils, to 
create a wholesome moral and religious sentiment 
among the people. Their zeal and devotion, their 
enthusiasm and moral earnestness, their alertness 
and resourcefulness, and the practical wisdom 
with which they discern the signs of the times 
and keep in touch with them, have made them 
a religious and ethical force in this country for 
which we may all thank God ; but they are almost 
without exception losing their hold on the two 
great Reformation principles to which they owe 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HOME MISSIONS 67 

their existence. They are permitting teachers 
in their colleges and seminaries to weaken those 
pillars ; they are permitting many of their preach- 
ers to substitute newspaper themes for texts of 
Scripture, and ethics and sociology for the Gos- 
pel; they are helping to give currency to one of 
the most pernicious heresies of the times, that 
it makes no difference what a man believes only 
so that he lives right — as if you could cut an 
apple blossom from off its stem and expect it to 
bear fruit. They are giving their consent more 
and more to a mutilated Bible and eviscerated 
Gospel. They are permitting some of their Deli- 
lahs to take their critical scissors and shear the 
Church's doctrinal power from off its head. Are 
our people aware of the fact that outside of our 
own communion the air is filled with anathemas 
against creeds, as if they were the Church's cry- 
ing evils, and with misty, hazy, conflicting opin- 
ions on those very doctrines and principles to 
which the Reformation owes its life?" 

"What America needs to-day above all else is 
a redemptive message that has the ring of certi- 
tude about it. It was Goethe who said: 'Give 
me your convictions, I have doubts enough of 
my own.' What the men and women of our 
country want when they sit in their pews is a 
sure message that has a Thus saith the Lord' 
affixed to it. This message the Lutheran Church 
has; what it needs is the prophetic gift in larger 
measure to make it burn in the hearts of men. 



68 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

She is to-day one of the very few communions in 
this country that gives a clear and unanimous 
testimony concerning the Scriptures, that believes 
the Bible to be the same infallible rule of faith 
it was intended to be; that teaches the exceeding 
sinfulness of sin and the need of pardon through 
an all-sufficient atonement. She proclaims a 
joyous, hopeful faith. She finds no room in her 
creed for the theories and speculations of men, 
but disowns all man-made schemes of salvation 
and places her sole reliance on the Word. With 
that Word as her guide she walks by faith and 
not by sight. She does not lay the great stress 
on a certain form of organization or a certain 
mode of worship, or a particular mode of bap- 
tism, or a special method of conversion, but with 
the doctrine of the Person and Work of Christ 
as her center she looks out upon the whole and 
makes the Scriptures an organism with all parts 
properly and vitally related. That is why she 
has been recognized as the Church of Theologi- 
ans, and why so eminent an authority as Dr. 
Schaff affirmed, that if Protestantism was ever 
to be reunited, it would be on the basis of the 
Augsburg Confession. After the doctrinal libe- 
ralism which now floats like a bubble in the air 
shall have burst, our Lutheran Church, if she 
remains true to her heritage, will rise more 
grandly than ever, for in not one of her twenty- 
three seminaries, thirty-nine colleges and forty- 
two academies is there room for a single profes- 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HOME MISSIONS 69 

sor who opposes her faith. Her pulpits ring with 
a definite message. She feeds her people on the 
milk and meat of the Gospel and not on a socio- 
logical and ethical hodge-podge. Her worship is 
as beautiful as it is Scriptural, for it is the effer- 
vescence of her faith. She protests when it be- 
comes automatic, artificial, or spectacular. The 
value of her liturgy is not in the rapidity with 
which it can be rushed through, nor does the 
value of her prayers consist in the number of 
times they are said. In fact, she does not believe 
in saying prayers; she believes in praying them. 
When she undertakes any activity, she sees to it 
that it is safely lodged in her principles and does 
not move by fits and starts to repent of it after- 
wards. Whatever weakness and shortcoming this 
Church still has, they are not because of her fidel- 
ity to her great doctrines, but in spite of it, or 
for lack of it. While others are driven hither and 
thither on the doctrinal seas, she is pinned fast 
to her safe and sure anchorage. One of the 
very brightest lights in a large communion once 
(in effect) said to a Lutheran, When my Church 
with its fitful and unstable anchorage goes on 
the rocks, I'll take refuge in the Lutheran ship.' 

"We say all this not in a boastful spirit, but be- 
cause we are persuaded that the Reformation 
Church stands on solid Scriptural ground from 
which she will not be dislodged in America, save 
by her own treason. After others have been 
groping about in the fog of creedless uncertainty, 



70 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

it may be her privilege to call the disintegrating 
Protestants back to the old evangelical paths and 
say : 'This is the way ; walk ye in it.' We doubt- 
less have our sins and shortcomings as a Church, 
and were that to be our theme, we could paint 
a picture whose colors would not seem very 
bright. But we need to be made conscious of our 
Church's mission in America. Our usefulness as 
a Church depends in large measure upon this 
consciousness. If that be feeble, our influence 
will be feeble ; if that be strong, our influence will 
be strong. Certain it is that God has set before 
our Church a great open door, and placed upon 
it a solemn and weighty responsibility. Will the 
Church enter that door? Will it assume that 
responsibility? Let Isaiah's call to captive Israel 
ring in our ears and rouse us to new hope and 
zeal : 'Awake ! Put on thy strength, Zion ! Put 
on thy beautiful garments, Jerusalem !' " 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Field of Home Missions. 



The Country as a Whole. 

In His wise providence God has placed our 
country in the midst of the modern world. To 
our east is Europe with her developed resources 
and overflowing population, and at our west is 
the Orient with her teeming millions. Between 
these two, in the temperate zone, God has placed 
America, and He has given her the continent from 
ocean to ocean. We have a most invigorating 
climate and a people known the world around for 
activity and progress. Our resources are unlim- 
ited and our development has been phenomenal. 
There has never been a nation which made such 
rapid progress as our own. In this favored land, 
among this active people God has planted the Lu- 
theran Church and has given to it the greatest 
Home Missionary opportunity of the ages. To 
no other Church has He given such a field. Will 



72 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

the Church occupy this field? Will it rise to the 
high sense of responsibility and take this nation 
for Christ? 

The rise and development of the Lutheran 
Church preeminently fits it for this task. It has 
always held a unique position among the Chris- 
tian forces. Being the mother of Protestantism 
it has always been a Church of many tongues. 
Its ability to use many languages has ever been 
its missionary opportunity, and no doubt will 
prove to be the Home Missionary opportunity in 
this land. To the Lutheran Church more than 
any other Church the "field is the world." It has 
never been a Church of the classes, but has always 
been the Church of the masses, and its commis- 
sion in this land is to preach the Gospel to all 
people. The field of Lutheran Home Missions 
is co-extensive with the nation. Wherever the 
stars and stripes waive there the Lutheran Church 
finds a field for missionary endeavor. Being the 
one Church which has remained true to the doc- 
trines of God's Word, not having been tainted 
by rationalism, nor disturbed by destructive 
Higher Criticism, God has given to it this country 
as its field of operation and has commanded it 
to go up and possess the land. Undoubtedly the 
whole land lies open, and if our Church is to 
enjoy the continued favor of God it must rise to 
that high sense of responsibility which aims to 
take the whole land. The vison of the Lutheran 
Church must find no horizon until the whole con- 



THE FIELD OF HOME MISSIONS 73 

tinent is scanned. This entire broad land is Lu- 
theran Home Mission territory. The frontier, the 
farming district, the country village, the inland 
towns, and the great cities are all fields for our 
missionary endeavor. To neglect any one of these 
would be fatal folly. 

Some conception of the vast magnitude of our 
field as a whole can be gained from the following 
words from the pen of Dr. Josiah Strong: "Of 
our fifty-one states and territories twenty-seven 
are each larger than all England, while our entire 
territory would contain England sixty-nine times. 
Ten of our states and territories are each larger 
than England, Wales, and Scotlnad, while five 
are each larger than the United Kingdom of 
Great Britain and Ireland. A German newspa- 
per points out the fact that a person may walk 
through seven German states in seven hours. 
Thirteen of the smaller German states might all 
find room in our Connecticut, and Connecticut 
might be laid down in the state of Colorado a 
score of times; and Montana is larger than Col- 
orado by 42,000 square miles. Make Montana 
the Mecca of the world. Gather into it the 125,- 
000,000 of North and South America, the 380,- 
000,000 of Europe, the 850,000,000 of Asia, the 
dwellers in the islands of the sea, — in short, near- 
ly 1,500,000,000 of mankind, and when we have 
gathered within the bounds of this one state the 
entire human family there will be but fifteen souls 
to each acre. California is larger than Mon- 

Lutheran* Home Missions. 6 



74 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

tana by 12,000 square miles. Reference has been 
made to the homes of the three great races among 
the ancients. Italy, Greece, and Palestine might 
all be gathered into California and then have am- 
ple room for a fair-sized kingdom. And Texas 
is larger than California by 107,000 square miles. 
Lay Texas on Europe and it might be placed so 
as to include the capitals of England, France, Bel- 
gium, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria." 

However interesting a general survey of the 
land may be, that would not be adequate for our 
study of the field of Lutheran Home Missions. 
Let us turn to the various different sections of 
the country and examine each and find out its 
possibilties as missionary territory. 

The East. 

The East has always been Lutheran territory. 
On the banks of the Hudson and the Delaware 
our forefathers first planted our ensign, preached 
our faith and built our churches. Here the 
Church passed through its early struggles and 
here it established itself permanently. In Penn- 
sylvania, Maryland, and New York stand the 
mother churches of Lutheranism, and from thence 
went forth the first Home Missionaries. Although 
Lutheranism was early planted in the East, the 
East still remains fertile Home Missionary ter- 
ritory. Missionary work here brings large re- 
turns. Work in the older sections is still very 
successful. While in many sections the revivalis- 



THE FIELD OF HOME MISSIONS 75 

tic denominations have "burnt the field" there is 
no "burnt" territory for the Lutheran Church. 
The older Lutheranism becomes, the deeper it 
roots itself into the soil and the sturdier it 
grows. The Pennsylvania Ministerium, the old- 
est synod in this country, is most energetic in 
Home Mission work and finds its own territory a 
most fruitful field. There is no such a thing as 
unfruitful territory even in the oldest sections 
of the East. Some one has said : "The most prom- 
ising field now for home missionary work is in 
the towns and cities of our Eastern states. We 
have more real Lutheran material on the ground, 
and our growth is more rapid and sure. The 
contingencies are not so great. The towns are 
not of such ephemeral growth. Permanency is 
their general character. We ought not to make 
less effort in the great West, but we ought to 
make more effort in the East. We ought to 
have a missionary in every city in Ohio, Penn- 
sylvania, and Maryland." 

Speaking of the East as Home Missionary ter- 
ritory, Rev. Ezra K. Bell says: "The older cities 
of the East present fields of richness beyond es- 
timation. In my own city our Lutheran churches 
have so multiplied that to-day they rank third, if 
not second among the denominations. Some of 
you remember when your Church in Baltimore 
was scarcely known, when our people were often 
asked who Lutherans were. But you may live 
to see the day when our Church will take the first 



76 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

place in members and religious power in the Mon- 
umental City. We are establishing churches 
where other denominations have failed. And 
what is true of Baltimore is true of other eastern 
cities. We can plan churches in almost any of 
them with assurance of success." 

What is true of Batlimore is true of New York 
City. Here our Lutheran Church holds second 
place among the Protestant bodies, and in this 
city we find one of our richest fields for Home 
Mission work. 

In recent years Buffalo has proven to be virgin 
soil for Lutheran Home Missions. And so we 
might go on from state to state and from city 
to city in the East and show that each has won- 
derful possibilties for Lutheran Home Missions. 
Home Mission work in the East will bring forth 
a hundred fold. 

New England. 

New England is the home of the Puritan 
churches. Here Congregationalism, Presbyter- 
ianism, and Episcopalianism planted churches in 
the first colonies and here they flourished. These 
denominations came with the Pilgrims, Puritans, 
and Cavaliers, and New England became their 
stronghold. But Puritan New England is chang- 
ing. Much of the original stock has migrated to 
the West, many of the remaining old families are 
dying out and the Church has been torn from 
its old moorings by philosophical rationalism and 



THE FIELD OF HOME MISSIONS 77 

ethical culture. The religious situation of the 
Puritan Churches is deplorable indeed. We quote 
the words of Dr. John A. W. Haas, president of 
Muhlenburg College: "Now in general, through- 
out New England, a large influence is exerted by 
the Unitarian trend. It does not wear the old 
garb of a Channing, nor show his devotion and 
power. It lives upon modern critical attempts 
in its pulpit ministrations. The Congregational 
Church, which includes men of every type, is 
being served now more and more by men who 
have been educated according to the ideals of 
Harvard and Yale. There is no denial of the 
divine element, but the human character of Chris- 
tianity, the evolution of the Christ and Chris- 
tendom, and the social aspect of religion are 
emphasized. The poets and novelists are quoted 
almost as much as the Bible. The religious life 
is painted in its subjective psychological aspect. 
The moral endeavor is put into the center. The 
sacrifice of Jesus is not his propitiatory atone- 
ment. It serves only as an example of love and 
a moral stimulus. The religious consciousness is 
larger as a determinative force than the Bible. 
And this religious consciousness is not the pure 
product of the Divine Word, but it is largely a 
philosophical enthusiasm clothed in religious ter- 
minology. The expression of this tendency is 
not on a high plane. It varies in the average 
minister of average talent. 

The Episcopal Church in many places also ex- 



78 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

hibits the same influence. Its broadness has little 
of the geniality and orthodox coloring of a Phil- 
lips Brooks. In contradiction with its own 
prayer-book, that sounds the fundamental truths 
of Christianity in its collects and prayers, in op- 
position to its hymnal, the Episcopal Church, 
through its pulpits, voices a rationalism as bold 
as Unitarianism. Rationalistic theories, which 
lately appeared in German publications as a rep- 
etition of old rationalism, I have heard given in 
boldest form to the people. 

In consequence of this position, which is little 
modified by the occasionally more evangelical tone 
of Methodist and Baptist Churches, the pew has 
become largely indifferent. With all the culture 
there is no religious earnestness. The religious 
convictions are very indefinite. The indifference 
and carelessness in relation to the Church are 
more marked than in other parts of our country. 
Emersonianism has percolated through from the 
pulpit to the people. It has, however, none of 
Emerson's pantheistic enthusiasm. With the ave- 
rage man and woman it is the negative of the 
old. The new is an intellectual humanitarianism 
without power and life. It is interesting to trace 
the connection of this rationalism with the ratio- 
nalism of Calvin. The home of Edwards, the 
center of the philosophizing about divine myster- 
ies, has become the place of a philosophy without 
mystery and power." 

However, into cultured New England with 



THE FIELD OF HOME MISSIONS 79 

these lowering religious tendencies Lutheran im- 
migrants are pouring by the thousands. In late 
years Boston has become a port of entry for 
thousands of Scandinavians. The land of Cotton 
Mather and Jonathan Edwards is becoming fer- 
tile territory for Lutheran Home Missions. Swed- 
ish immigration into New England has been very 
great, and the Augustana Synod has not been 
slack in looking after these Swedish brethren and 
in gathering them into congregations. The Danes 
and Norwegians, and also the Germans, have many 
countrymen in these Yankee states, and they find 
work there very fruitful. A door is being opened 
up for the Lutheran Church in New England. The 
English speaking portion of our Church has dis- 
covered that New England is virgin territory for 
Home Missions. A new era is dawning in New 
England. The sceptre is departing from Puritan- 
ism. To the Lutheran Church shall be the gather- 
ing of the people. Some day a new history of 
New England shall be written, and this history 
will show that the religious development of that 
country where Pilgrim and Puritan first found 
a home has been finally determined by those who 
hold to the truths of the Augsburg Confession. 
New England is ripe unto the harvest for Luther- 
an Home Missions. 

The East North Central Division. 

In a map before us we find the states of the 
Union grouped into nine groups, and for conven- 



80 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

ience we will follow that grouping as far as prac- 
ticable. In the East North Central Division are 
the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, 
and Wisconsin. One hundred years ago these 
were the far western states. But the frontier 
has long ago departed from them. They now 
rank among our most populous and enterprising 
states. These five states have a combined popu- 
lation of 18,250,621, and a large percentage of it 
is Lutheran. The early settlers came from the 
East and South, and these pioneers put their im- 
pression upon the communities where they settled. 
Among those early pioneers were many Luther- 
ans, and wherever they settled they built their 
homes and established churches. Later when 
the German immigration following the Napoleonic 
wars came, thousands of German Lutherans came 
teeming into these states. And wherever the Ger- 
man came he built churches and schools. But 
the Lutheran Church was absolutely unable to 
keep pace with the immigration. Much was done, 
but thousands were lost in the transition. 

In the earlier days these states were almost 
exclusively agricultural in character, but the in- 
dustrial era in late years has greatly changed and 
is changing their character. This industrial era 
is the age of city development, and this means a 
readjustment of the population. Thousands of 
those who were reared on the farm are going to 
the cities in search of employment. When these 
leave the country they almost invariably leave 



THE FIETD OF HOME MISSIONS 81 

their church relations behind. They make their 
home in the city, but they claim their church 
membership in the old home church. Such a 
state of affairs makes Home Missions impera- 
tive. The missionary must follow these wanderers 
in to the city and anchor them in the Church of 
their faith. The great Home Mission problem 
of this group of states is that of the city mission. 

Another important problem in these states is 
that of the immigrant. These five states have 
received a large proportion of Lutheran immi- 
gration from Europe. Such large cities as Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Toledo have re- 
ceived thousands of Germans and Scandinavians. 
Many of these originally were baptized in the 
Lutheran faith. Thousands of them have been 
gathered into the Church, many of them have 
gone into the other denominations, but it is safe 
to say that there are more of them outside the 
Church to-day than there are inside it. The in- 
gathering of these thousands constitutes the Home 
Mission problem of the Lutheran Church in these 
states. 

Most of those who have been gathered into 
the Church have been gathered into churches 
which use a foreign language. This fact consti- 
tutes a new problem, namely, the erection of 
English speaking churches. The children grow 
up and they do not use a foreign language, but 
the English, consequently, if they are to be held 
in the Lutheran Church, English services must 



82 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

be maintained for them. The Home Mission prob- 
lem of these East North Central Division states 
is the problem of English Lutheran Home Mis- 
sions. 

In these states many of the synods have their 
theological seminaries, and they are working man- 
fully to meet every condition that arises. In this 
division the foreign speaking churches have 
reached their limits. From this time they will 
be on the decline. More and more they must 
introduce the English language, and this will 
mean a wonderful change. These churches will 
be maintained by the younger men who have 
been born, raised and educated in this country 
and who have the traditions of America and not 
of Germany and Scandinavia. This era of transi- 
tion must be an era of great Home Mission ac- 
tivity. 

These five states present great problems to the 
Lutheran Church at this time. In these states 
the Church has a large share of its present 
strength, and if the Home Mission work is prose- 
cuted as it should be, the future years will show 
that the Lutheran faith shall have dominated the 
religious life in this territory. 

The West. 

From the central states we turn our eyes to- 
wards the course of empire and look to the West. 
The setting sun reveals the golden fields of Home 
Mission enterprise. In the West is the Home 



THE FIELD OF HOME MISSIONS 83 

Mission opportunities of all denominations, and 
in the West the Lutheran Church has the lion's 
share. The future of the country is in the West, 
and that Church which shall evangelize the West 
shall be the Church which in the future shall 
dominate the religious life of America, if not 
of the world. Of the supremacy of the West Dr. 
Josiah Strong has said: "Beyond a peredvanture 
the West is to dominate the East. With more 
than twice the room and resources of the East, 
together with the superior power and influence 
which under popular government accompany 
them, the West will elect the executive and control 
legislation. When the center of population cros- 
ses the Mississippi, the West will have a major- 
ity in the lower House, and sooner or later the 
partition of her great territories, and probably 
some of the states, will give to the West the con- 
trol of the Senate The West will direct the 

policy of the Government, and by virtue of her 
preponderant population and influence will deter- 
mine our national character and therefore des- 
tiny. ,, 

An idea of the immensity of the West will at 
once convince one that the statement of Dr. Strong 
is none too emphatic. Very few people have any 
idea of the immense proportions of the western 
part of our country. We quote Dr. Strong again : 
"Of the twenty-two states and territories west 
of the Mississippi only three are as small as all 
New England. Montana would stretch from 



84 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

Boston on the east to Cleveland on the west, and 
extend far enough south to include Richmond, Va. 
Idaho, if laid down in the East, would touch 
Toronto, Can., on the north and Raleigh, N. C, 
on the south, while its southern boundary line 
is long enough to stretch from Washington City 
to Columbus, Ohio; and California, if on our At- 
lantic seaboard, would extend from the southern 
line of Massachusetts to the lower part of South 
Carolina; or in Europe, it would extend from 
London across France and well into Spain. New 
Mexico is larger than the United Kingdom of 
Great Britain and Ireland. The greatest meas- 
urement of Texas is nearly equal to the distance 
from New Orleans to Chicago, or from Chicago 
to Boston. Lay Texas on the face of Europe and 
this giant with his head resting on the mountains 
of Norway (directly east of the Orkney Islands), 
with one palm covering London, the other War- 
saw, would stretch himself down across the king- 
dom of Denmark, across the empires of Germany 
and Austria, across Northern Italy and lave his 
feet in the Mediterranean. Dakota might be 
carved into a half-dozen kingdoms of Greece; or 
if it were divided into twenty-six equal countries 
we might lay down the two kingdoms of Judah 
and Israel in each." 

Into all this vast territory thousands and tens 
of thousands of Lutherans have come and are 
still coming. There is not a state in this great 
gigantic West that does not now possess a large 



THE FIELD OF HOME MISSIONS 85 

number of those who hold to the faith of Luther. 
These people have come from the eastern states, 
and from Europe. For fifty years they have been 
coming, and yet the fountain from whence they 
flow has not run dry. They are coming and will 
continue to come until economic conditions in the 
East are equal to those in the West. Yes, they 
will continue to come until economic conditions 
in Europe and America are equalized. 

The West presents to the Church of this gene- 
ration the greatest problem of the ages. Here 
are centering the forces which shall make or des- 
troy America. Here the Church must do its best 
work. If the Church fails in the West it fails 
in America. Dr. Joseph E. McAfee of the Pres- 
byterian Home Mission Board has well said : "But 
if the Church of Jesus Christ itself is committed 
to the charge of setting up the kingdom of God 
here in God's world, the bringing of the kingdoms 
of this world under the sway of God and of His 
Christ, the pouring of the vivifying life of the 
Son of God, the Saviour of men, into the life of 
the great human brotherhood the world 'round, 
the giving back to the redeeming Christ the sat- 
isfaction of His soul travail in the redemption 
of men to God, — if the Church conceives itself as 
committed to anything like that program, then 
is the five-seventh of the United States lying west 
of the Mississippi River the very campaign 
ground of the world's spiritual conquest. If the 
Church aspires to shape the forces which are to 



86 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

control the spiritual destinies of this new country, 
why, out there is where they are forming, and 
there must the Church bend her energies. If the 
Church means to mould with divine potencies the 
civilization of the continent, why, out there is 
the moulding trough and there must she thrust 
in her hand. If the Church would touch the very 
nerve-center of the new world spiritual organism, 
she must reach out there. If the Church really 
understands the genus of the kingdom of God 
among men, then depend upon it, she will not 
mistake the importance of this ever-expanding 

ministry We of the Church of Christ have 

committed to us not merely the evangelization of 
the West of twenty-five millions, more or less, 
of human beings. For their sakes and as mere 
human beings, the people of the western five-sev- 
enths of the United States are no better than any 
other human beings, of course not. And if we 
are out to count noses, there are at the most only 
twenty-five millions. A paltry handful, as num- 
bers go. But the importance, the eternal sanc- 
tity of the Church's mission in the West appears 
rather in this: that here she has the chance to 
touch and shape the forces bound to be the most 
potent in the world for hastening or retarding the 
kingdom of God. Here is the chance to redeem 
those who shall in their turn be in very truth the 
world's redeemers or who shall live and strive 
to curse the world. The West, the biggest por- 
tion of this great land of ours, uncovers the ques-. 



THE FIELD OF HOME MISSIONS 87 

tion as to whether the Church of Christ conceives 
itself large enough and vital enough to make the 
kingdom of God a reality in the most potent civil- 
ization in the world." 

To the Lutheran Church such a statement as 
that of Dr. McAfee is almost prophetic. "Almost 
seventy-five per cent, of the great stream of our 
immigration has been pouring into the West, and 
it is safe to say that fully one half, if not two- 
thirds of that western immigration is of German 
and Scandinavian stock. In the West our Luther- 
an Church has a call and opportunity such as she 
never had in any other country. There is now 
a new opening offered to our Church. The next 
twenty-five years are the time in which we must 
establish there or lose the West. The founda- 
tions are already well laid. The German and 
Scandinavian Lutherans of the West have done 
a grand and solid work in establishing their syn- 
ods, in covering a vast territory with their mis- 
sionary operations, and particularly in making 
ample provisions for the religious training of their 
youth. On this solid foundation let a sound and 
aggressive Lutheranism be reared, and the West 
shall be ours. ... No emancipated Lutheranism, 
unable to stand on its own foundations, robbed 
of its distinctive life and character will ever be 
a telling force in the West. We must be true 
to ourselves and not afraid to hoist the good old 
flag of our fathers: their confession, full and 
true and unabridged. But we must not attempt 



05 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

to shut up this confession in the language of the 
immigrant. Sound Lutheranism in the English 
tongue, this is what we owe to the West, and this 
will make our Church a power for good in that 
great field, which holds the destiny of America." 
Dr. A. Spaeth, D. D. 

The West North Central Division. 

The West North Central division includes the 
states of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Da- 
kota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas. This 
was the wild frontier of seventy-five years ago. 
Here on the plains the buffalo roamed, and the 
Indian warrior fought his battles and counted his 
scalps. But now buffalo and Indian have van- 
ished forever and instead have come thousands 
of farms and cities, with a combined population 
of 11,637,921. 

This group of states has perhaps received a 
larger number of Lutheran immigrants than any 
other section of the country. Here German, 
Swede, Norwegian, and Dane vie with each other 
in home building, and good homes have they built. 
In this group of states the foreign speaking Lu- 
theran churches are far in the ascendency to- 
day. Here the Lutheran Church practically dom- 
inates the religious life, and a glorious record it 
has made. 

These states are mainly agricultural and these 
sturdy Lutherans know how to wrest from the 
soil its wealth. During the last thirty years 



THE FIELD OF HOME MISSIONS 89 

Home Mission work in these states has been car- 
ried on by nearly all the synods, and so fruitful 
has this work been that it has brought the center 
of Lutheran population west of the Mississippi 
River. 

In this group of states the language question is 
not so pressing as in the East North Central divi- 
sion. Here in many instances the language of 
the home is still the mother tongue from Europe. 
But the day is at hand when all this will be 
changed. The rising generation is clamoring for 
the faith of the fathers in the language of the land. 

Immigration is not so strong into these states 
as it was a few years ago, but there are untold 
possibilties for Home Mission endeavor. The story 
here is the story of older eastern states — namely, 
a large ungathered Lutheran population. 

At the present time these seven states offer to 
the Lutheran Church the largest returns for labor 
expended. New towns are rapidly springing up, 
and new territory is being developed, and in every 
new enterprise is to be found many of the Lu- 
theran faith. The settlers in these states are 
past the pinch of poverty experienced by the 
early comers. They are fast becoming wealthy. 
They are well able to maintain missionary work 
in their midst, and they welcome it. An effectual 
door is open to the Church here. If the Church 
will put forth strenuous efforts in these states 
for the next twenty years it will be well repaid. 

Missionary work in these states cannot be car- 

Lutheran Home Missions. 7 



90 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

ried on in the old pioneer fashion. Services once 
a month in a school house or other public place 
will not do. The people are aggressive and up- 
to-date and nothing less than a settled mission- 
ary with an attractive church building will do. 
Mission work from the very beginning must take 
on a permanent form if it is to succeed. The 
people are settled in their homes and prosperous 
in their businesses, and nothing that looks like 
possible failure will attract them. It takes more 
money and effort to carry on missionary work 
in this part of the country now than it did twenty- 
five or thirty years ago, but the results well 
repay the cost and effort. In the course of ten 
or twelve years a mission congregation will not 
only become self-sustaining, but it will become a 
permanent factor in the religious life of the com- 
munity and in the work of the synod to which 
it belongs. This West North Central division of 
states presents the largest and ripest missionary 
field of any section of the country. Especially 
is this true of work in the English language. 
Nearly all the synods are realizing this, and they 
are taking up English work with an enthusiasm 
never before known. Fifteen or twenty years 
will see a complete change in Lutheranism in this 
section. Many of the churches which now have 
an occasional English service will then have only 
an occasional service in any other language, and 
those which now have no English will then have 
the larger majority of their services in English. 



THE FIELD OF HOME MISSIONS 91 

The prevalent use of the English language will 
have a tendency to unify the various synods, and 
this will hasten the day of greater Home Mis- 
sion work. When the day comes that the larger 
majority of the congregations use the English 
language, then the time will have come when our 
Lutheran Home Mission work can be more quick- 
ly completed. The Lutheran Church in this group 
of states is destined to take a most prominent 
part in the future of the Lutheran Church in 
America, 

The Mountain Division. 

The mountain division includes the states of 
Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada. These 
states have a population of 2,633,517. This sec- 
tion now comprises our real frontier. Here the 
country is sparsely settled and things take on a 
frontier appearance. These states have great 
possibilities, and promise a rapid development. 
Irrigation and dry farming are working wonders 
in these states. Only in very recent years has the 
great possibilities of irrigation been realized. 
Since 1905 the government has undertaken great 
irrigation tasks and is making the desert literally 
bloom as the rose. Irrigation has brought about 
a rapid development of this section and promises 
still more for the future. In the next few years 
irrigation projects alone will increase the popula- 
tion of this section by 20,000,000. Any one fa- 
miliar with Home Mission work knows this means 



92 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

the greatest opportunity for the Church. The in- 
rushing population will soon become godless, 
crazed by the desire of wealth, unless the Church 
early plants its forts in their midst. There will 
be thousands of our faith in these new develop- 
ments, and the Lutheran Church must be on the 
ground early if it would win. 

Mission work in these new towns will be differ- 
ent from that on the old frontier. Here the town 
grows full size in a few months or at most in a 
few years, and the Church must keep pace with 
the town. A dingy, uninviting church building 
with a slow-going, inactive congregation will not 
win in this territory. Into this rapidly develop- 
ing frontier the Church must send its best mis- 
sionaries and must give them liberal support. If 
this is done then we will win. If the Church 
waits and gives beggarly aid to those whom it 
does send it will lose. This mountain division is 
big with hope. The setting sun over these wes- 
tern mountain tops reveals the largest possibili- 
ties for the Lutheran Church, if only our people 
will awake to the situation and uphold the hands 
of those who are set to wage our battles in these 
parts. 

The Pacific Slope. 

The Pacific slope includes the states of Wash- 
ington, Oregon, and California. These states have 
a population of 4,192,304. In our early history, 
for a long time, most of this country was known 



THE FIELD OF HOME MISSIONS 93 

as "no man's land." For twenty years the United 
States and Great Britain were under treaty with 
each other that neither could claim this part of 
our continent. The winning of this country to 
our nation was the result of Home Missionary 
endeavor, and the story is as interesting as any 
recorded in the pages of history. This great 
Northwestern country has filled up with inhab- 
itants in recent years and is now rich Home Mis- 
sion territory for the Lutheran Church. 

Our Church has entered this territory and is 
doing a large work. The German and Scandi- 
navian people of the states to the east are rapidly 
entering this section and are making it a wonder- 
ful country. They are subduing it with the same 
persistency and determination with which they 
subdued the old frontier. If the Lutheran Church 
is wise it will plant this territory full of Home 
Mission congregations and in the future it will 
lead the religious life of these states. But here 
again modern methods must be used. The old 
slow way will not win. The people who are set- 
tling these states are progressive and will not 
submit to slow ways. Aggressiveness will bring 
victory to our Lutheran hosts in this part of the 
country. Men and means must be forthcoming 
if we are to win in these states. 

The South. 

From the earliest times there have been Lu- 
therans in the South. In 1734 they settled in 



94 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

this part of the country and they now number 
50,000 communicants. There are eight synods of 
them federated in what is known as the United 
Synod of the South. The South has been passing 
through a season of prosperity in late years. It 
is felt alike in the market and the Church. The 
Lutheran Church has felt this prosperity and has 
awakened to new undertakings. As Home Mis- 
sion territory the South offers great possibilities. 
It has been an agricultural section, but a new 
order is arising. Factories are springing up on 
every hand and the new era of industrialism is 
coming in. This brings the Church face to face 
with new problems and gives to it a great Home 
Mission opportunity. This readjustment of the 
social order is a trying ordeal, but it is the day 
of Home Missions. 

Throughout the entire South there is a large 
scattered Lutheran population which must be 
gathered into the Church. At the present time 
the South offers the greatest advantages to the 
homeseeker and undoubtedly will receive a large 
immigration in the years to come. This will make 
the South strategic in the work of the Lutheran 
Church. 

The negro and the mountain white present 
Home Mission problems peculiar to the South. 
Among both a start has been made. Only the 
years to come can reveal what the success will 
be. But judging from past experience the Lu- 
theran Church will handle these problems satis- 



THE FIELD OF HOME MISSIONS yo 

factorily. In the South as well as in other sec- 
tions of our country the problem of Home Mis- 
sions is becoming the problem of the city mission. 
How to meet the wants of the multitudes of young 
people who are making their way from the farms 
into the numerous towns and cities which are 
springing up along the railroads and factory cen- 
ters, is the problem which now confronts the Lu- 
theran Church of the South. If the Church is to 
do the work which the Lord has given it to do 
in the South it must have more men and more 
means. Our Lutheran Home Mission work here 
as elsewhere has not been properly supported. 
Give the South able Home Missionaries with lib- 
eral support and the results to the Lutheran 
Church will be surprisingly large. 



dfo 



CHAPTER V. 

The People for Lutheran Home Missions. 
The American and the German. 



The People. 

The Home Missionary in the Lutheran Church 
has many nationalities with which to deal. It is 
very necessary that he should know the traits 
and characteristics of each. To gain such a knowl- 
edge a study of each nationality will be necessary. 
However, it must be conceded in the outset that 
it is exceedingly difficult to characterize a people 
other than one's own and to do them justice. Im- 
partial as one may try to be, unconsciously he is 
influenced by his own prejudices. Naturally he 
will value other people by his own standards. But 
a careful study of national traits will be of untold 
value to the Home Missionary. In fact it will be 
impossible for him to carry on successful work 
unless he thoroughly knows the people among 
whom he is to work. 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 97 

A Partially Prepared People. 

The people for Lutheran Home Missions differ 
widely in national traits ana characteristics, but 
they all have one thing in common — they are 
partly prepared for the work. The Home Mis- 
sionary always addresses himself to those some- 
what prepared and instructed. He never goes to 
those who are totally untaught, as does the For- 
eign Missionary. He works with those who have 
some understanding of the Gospel and have en- 
joyed some religious advantages. For whether 
he seeks to gather in those scattered on the 
frontier, or to establish the Church among the 
newly arrived immigrants, or to reach the neg- 
lected and ignorant masses in our cities, he deals 
with people who have some degree of Christian 
knowledge. They may be deplorably ignorant, 
but they are not totally untaught. 

The American. 

The greater part of our Lutheran Home Mis- 
sion work is carried on among nationalities other 
than the American, but we have a large number 
of Americans and are getting more all the time. 
While our Church has been counted a foreign 
church, still it is reaching the native American, 
and the Home Missionary who does not know how 
to deal with him is a failure. 

The colonial stocks of America were the Eng- 
glish, Dutch, Swede, German, Scotch-Irish, and 



98 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

Huguenot. These were the people who fought 
for our independence, established our freedom 
and created our nation. These people each con- 
tributed a share to the life of our country. The 
English gave us language, laws, and most of our 
customs. The Dutch gave us industry and com- 
merce. The Germans and Swedes gave us thrift 
and perseverance. The Sscotch-Irish gave us 
vigor and tireless energy, while the Huguenot 
gave us speed and taste. 

Conscientiousness. Conscience was paramount 
with our early settlers. They were religious men, 
men who demanded liberty of conscience in all 
matters, especially in the worship of God. This 
was a most excellent trait, and without it our 
American Republic could never have become the 
great nation it now is. This colonial trait has 
come down to the present day. The true Ameri- 
can is a conscientious man. 

Courage. Courage was a marked quality of 
our pioneers. A moment's consideration will 
show that it took a fine type of courage to face 
a wild country, such as ours was, and that country 
inhabited by savage men. But our fathers had 
that courage, and prompted by it they overcame 
the Indian, subdued the wilderness, laid the foun- 
dation of the government, and planted the church. 
The march of civilization across our country has 
developed the finest type of courage seen in any 
land. The American still has that quality, and 
moved by it he is undertaking projects which 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 99 

baffle all other nations. Some one has said, "the 
American loves a tough job." The Home Mission 
problem of the Lutheran Church gives him that 
job. 

Energy. The early settlers were famous for 
their energy. To clear the forests, till the fields, 
build cities, construct government and defend 
themselves required a great store of tireless ener- 
gy. The energy of the early days has not departed 
from our people. There is no European people 
with such a tireless energy as the American. Here 
in America we move at a speed which startles 
the world. This is due partly to the fact that we 
are the best fed people in the world, and partly 
to the undeveloped resources of a new country, 
but more largely to our climate which acts as a 
constant stimulus. Ten years after the landing 
of the Pilgrims, the Rev. Francis Higginson 
wrote, "A sup of New England air is better than 
a whole flagon of English ale." Some one has 
said : "A stimulating climate, the undeveloped re- 
sources of a continent, our social and political in- 
stitutions, have all united to produce the most 
forceful and tremendous energy in the world." 
Archdeacon Farrar said in 1885, "In America I 
have been most struck with the enormous power, 
vivacity, and speed in every department of ex- 
ertion." 

This tireless energy of the American is a valu- 
able asset to the Church when directed in the 
proper channels. It takes a store of energy to 



100 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

carry on our Home Mission work. Digging the 
Panama Canal is a small undertaking compared 
with our Home Mission enterprises. It will take 
more energy to gather in the unchurched in Amer- 
ica than to make a passage way from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific Ocean. 

Consideration. America has been the asylum 
for the oppressed. To this country the nations 
have flocked and here they meet each other on 
a common footing. This commingling of the na- 
tions in our land has taught us consideration. 
Our idea of freedom, personal responsibility and 
liberty leads us to be considerate of all people. 
We have no royal aristocracy. One citizen is as 
good as another, and every one has a share in 
building up the nation. Equality of citizenship 
has made the American considerate of all people 
who came to these shores. It is this quality that 
has made our country the great Home Mission 
country it is. We have welcomed the people from 
Europe, and they have come. Now it is our duty 
to bring to them the Gospel. We do not mean 
to say that they were heathen when they came. 
But in tearing away from the soil of their native 
lands they have drifted away from the Church, 
and it is the duty of Lutheran Home Missions to 
gather them into the Church again. 

Ideals. America is the home of high ideals. 
Ideals have developed here more in one hundred 
and fifty years than would have been possible in 
a thousand years under the monarchies of Europe. 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 101 

While the American has high ideals still he is 
not fanciful. He seeks to bring his ideals into 
reality and is not content until he has done so. 

Home Mission workers need high ideals. To 
bring the 40,000,000 unchurched people of Amer- 
ica into the Church is an undertaking of immense 
magnitude. No one with small ideals need en- 
deavor to do this. Large as the undertaking may 
seem the work will be done. 

Colonization. As a colonizer the American has 
no equal. Our thirteen colonies have grown into 
forty-eight colonies. Our original 3,000,000 peo- 
ple have become 90,000,000 and that in the short 
space of one hundred and forty years. More than 
3,000,000 square miles of wilderness have been 
subdued by our people. European nations have 
planted their colonies, but no people ever swept 
over such a vast area of country in such a short 
time and brought it to such a high state of devel- 
opment. Each succeeding generation pushed far- 
ther into the wilderness, and in less than a hun- 
dred years we had crossed the continent and left 
it inhabited. 

Intellectual life. The intellectual life of a people 
is found in its literature. While America has her 
literature, still the intellectual life of our people 
as a whole has run along other channels. Josiah 
Strong says : "The intellectual vigor of the Amer- 
ican has displayed itself less in the pursuit of lit- 
erature than in the mastery of the physical con- 
ditions involved in the conquest for civilization 



102 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

of three million square miles of territory. With 
nations as with individuals physical development 
precedes intellectual." However, America is com- 
ing to her own in the intellectual life. Our col- 
leges and universities are ranking with the best 
in Europe, and our scholars and professional men 
are in the front ranks. 

Inventive genius. As an inventive genius the 
American has no equal. Speaking of the Anglo- 
Saxon race, Josiah Strong says in "The New 
Era": "In this sphere the Anglo-Saxon has no 
rival. Of the important inventions doubtless the 
mariner's compass, gunpowder, printing, the 
steam-engine, the electric telegraph, the applica- 
tion of steam to the printing-press, the locomotive, 
and the steamship are those which have exerted 
the most profound and far-reaching influence on 
civilization and the destiny of nations. The first 
two originated in the far East and the remote 
past. Of the last six, five were Anglo-Saxon in 
origin. Only less important than these were the 
invention or discovery of the power-loom, the 
mule- jenny, the cotton-gin, illuminating gas, the 
Bessemer steel process, the sewing machine, the 
reaper and the threshing machine, all of which 
are Anglo-Saxon.'' Herbert Spencer says that 
"beyond question, in respect of mechanical appli- 
ances, the Americans are ahead of all nations." 

Money-making power. Among the striking 
characteristics of the American is his ability to 
make money. America is the land of millionaires. 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 103 

The American has the ability to turn everything 
into gold. He is one of the greatest money- 
makers in the world. He will undertake anything 
as long as it promises to be a financial success. 
He will invest his last dollar in an enterprise if 
it promises to bring gain. His success at making 
money has attracted the attention of the world. 

In the development of the Church this power 
becomes an important factor. It puts him in a 
position to aid the Church in carrying on its Home 
Missionary enterprises. Our Lutheran people 
have this money-making power, and this will help 
solve our problem in the future. When once our 
people learn to be liberal, then the Church will 
be in a position to gather in those who are with- 
out the fold. 

Statesmanship. In statesmanship the American 
is not behind any race. To build up such a gov- 
ernment as we have out of the material at hand, 
required the greatest statesmanship the world has 
ever seen. A republic was unknown until Amer- 
ica showed to the world that a republican form 
of government was best suited to happiness and 
progress. Our American constitution is recog- 
nized as the highest example of constructive 
statesmanship in history. Mr. Gladstone pro- 
nounced it "the most wonderful work ever struck 
off at a given time by the brain and purpose of 
men." The development of our country under 
that constitution has required the very best 
statesmanship that could be procured, and our 



104 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

nation has furnished that statesmanship. Amer- 
ica has taken her place as one of the foremost 
nations of the world, and this position has been 
gained because America was able to produce 
statesmen that could lead and direct our people. 
The very air of freedom and liberty which we 
breathe, seems to stimulate the powers of states- 
manship. 

Physical characteristics. With such commin- 
gling of peoples America has not yet produced a 
physical type. There is yet too much mixed blood 
in our country. But when the American type 
does become fixed it is sure to be a noble type 
of physical manhood. Already the indications 
are that the future American will be a large, 
strong man. Dr. Baxter's official report shows 
that our native whites were over an inch taller 
than the English, and nearly two-thirds of an 
inch taller than the Scotch, who in height were 
superior to all other foreigners. What the Amer- 
ican type of physical manhood will be we cannot 
say, but undoubtedly it will be the best. 

Religious life. The religous life of the Ameri- 
can is emotional, intense, and active. He comes 
nearer living his religion than any other. His 
religion like his business must count. He has 
no sympathy with a religious belief that does not 
show results. He must see the effects of his 
religion in the lives of individuals and commun- 
ities, or he is not satisfied. He values principles 
but prefers to see results. His religion moves 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 105 

him to the greatest philanthropy. Of all people 
he is most easily moved by great moral ideals. 
No race is so capable of a moral enthusiasm as 
the American. A religious enthusiasm will sweep 
over our country in an incredibly short time. He 
is quick to accept responsibility for the ignorant 
and the degraded. When the Cubans and Fili- 
pinos were suffering under the tyranny of Spain, 
the American nation stepped in and rescued 
them. This they did not for glory or gain, but 
because they were ready to accept the responsi- 
bility of lifting up a downtrodden people. The 
American will always make genuine self-sacrifice 
when he sees that he can better humanity by so 
doing. As a people quick to respond to religious 
influence the American has no equal in any land. 

The Germans. 

German Immigration. Before the Revolution- 
ary War the Germans had come to this country 
in large numbers. It is estimated that there 
were 225,000 in this country at the time of the 
outbreaking of the war. They had settled the 
frontier from Mohawk in New York to Georgia 
in the South. They had settled the Piedmont 
Plateau lying at the base and east of the Appa- 
lachian mountains and the great valley lying be- 
tween the Blue Ridge and the Alleghany moun- 
tains. Beginning in Pennsylvania they had ex- 
tended across Maryland and southeast through 
Virginia and the Carolinas. With their Scotch- 

Lutheran Home Missions. 



106 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

Irish neighbors they formed the frontier. They 
battled heroically and successfully with nature, 
and when it came to shaking off the English 
yoke they formed a decisive factor in Washing- 
ton's army. 

First Wave, 1831-1860. All along there had 
been a small stream of German immigration into 
this country, but the great increase did not come 
until the decade of 1831 — 1840. Starting up- 
ward in 1832 with over ten thousand it reached 
more than twenty-nine thousand in 1848 and a 
total of fifty-two thousand for the decade. 

There were various causes which brought this 
immigration, such as over-population, over- 
crowding in the farming districts, the rise of 
the factory system which ruined the small hand- 
industries in Germany, Contemporary with this 
is found a period of prosperity and expansion in 
the United States. Mr. Turner, writing in the 
Chicago Record Herald in 1901, says: " It was 
an era of land speculation, town-building, and 
westward movement. A flood of settlers poured 
by way of the Erie Canal and steamboats into 
the land between the Ohio and the Great Lakes; 
the cotton culture spread population into the 
Gulf states, and Missouri received an important 
influx of settlers. These conditions were made 
known in Germany. Cheap lands, light taxes, the 
need of laborers and the opportunity to gain a 
competence in a short time by toil, — these were 
considerations that attracted the Germans." 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 107 

The period from 1840 to 1860 is one of large 
German immigration. Beginning with 57,500 
German immigrants, in one year the figures 
reached 215,000. This was the year 1854. In 
the three years from 1852 — 54 over five hundred 
thousand arrived, and during the nine years al- 
most nine hundred thousand. The great Civil 
War coming on, German immigration ceased 
until the war was over. 

The highest crest of the wave was contempo- 
raneous with the troubles in Germany. The wars 
of 1848 and the following years drained the 
country, and the Germans sought refuge in Amer- 
ica. Political persecutions drove men like Hec- 
ker, Siegel, and Carl Schurz to this country. 
Economic conditions also contributed an import- 
ant cause. Poverty and famine stared many in 
the face, and America promised abundance. 

At the same time American railroads were 
opening up the vast Western territories, and 
new states such as Wisconsin were making extra- 
ordinary efforts to attract German immigrants. 
The improvement of ocean travel made the jour- 
ney shorter and cheaper, and furnished better 
safeguards for transportation. So great had been 
the inrush of Germans into this country that 
by the year 1860 there were 1,276,075 foreign- 
born Germans who had made America their per- 
manent home. 

Second Wave, 1866-1889. Another high wave 
of German immigration came after the Civil 



108 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

War. The desire to escape irksome military serv- 
ice at home coupled with depressing industrial 
conditions throughout Europe furnished a new 
impulse for immigration. From 1873 to 1879 
no less than 1,818,152 Germans passed through 
our entrance ports. The year 1882 was the ban- 
ner year when 250,630 arrived. This record has 
never been surpassed. Large immigration con- 
tinued until 1885 and then gradually decreased. 
The period of this second wave corresponds 
to the great Prussian wars and the convulsions 
into which Germany was thrown before being 
welded into one nation by the Franco-Prussian 
war. Military duty and hard pressure upon the 
population had much to do with this large im- 
migration. However, the allurements on this 
side were strong. A homestead was offered to 
every worthy immigrant, and the German was 
"keenly alive to the desirability of possessing 
land." The Germans have always been "pious 
towards land," and the opportunities offered in 
America were irresistible. 

Third Wave, 1891 — . In 1891 there began a 
third wave of German immigration, which has, 
in the main, been directed towards Canada. In 
1901 these Teutonic newcomers in the Domin- 
ion's western provinces numbered 20,000, includ- 
ing representatives from Austria, Hungary, and 
Russia. Since then they have been swarming 
thither in large numbers and present to the Lu- 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 109 

theran Church in America another promising 
field for Home Mission activity. 

The Present Situation. Rev. Chas. R. Keiter, 
writing in the Lutheran Church Review for April, 
1912, says: "We find the total contribution of 
Germany to the citizenship of the United States 
has been 6,245,000. Deducting from this num- 
ber 745,000 for such as resided in America pre- 
vious to the year 1840, and for the insignificant 
portion born on United States territory outside 
the continent of America and in Alaska, we can 
boast of a total of 5,500,000 inhabitants of Ger- 
man extraction. ,, 

Speaking of German immigration, Albert B. 
Faust says in "The German Element in the Uni- 
ted States": "In regard to the character of the 
German immigration of the nineteenth century, 
much applies to them that has already been said 
in regard to the immigration of the eighteenth 
century. Yet there is a difference also. There 
was on the whole a much larger percentage of 
men of culture in some of the immigrations of 
the nineteenth century. There were many re- 
fugees, not from religious persecution, as in the 
eighteenth century, but from political oppression 
and espionage. These were men who, if they had 
been tolerated, would have become influential in 
the public life of their native land. Coming to 
this country they spent their efforts in the devel- 
opment of political and social conditions in the 
United States, beginning with the improvement 
of their own people in their adopted country." 



110 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

Looking at German immigration as a whole, 
two significant facts appear, first that of the 
equal distribution of the German immigration 
in comparison with other foreign elements, and, 
secondly, the existence of a German belt where 
the German element is most numerous and pros- 
perous. Their equal distribution through town 
and country and proportionately through all parts 
of the United States, recommends the German. 
Of all the nations coming to this country, none 
have spread over the whole area of the United 
States as the Germans have. In the eighteenth 
century they chose the lands best adapted for 
farming purposes and clung to them, and in the 
nineteenth they selected the area which at the 
present day corresponds to the most productive 
and progressive in the United States. The Ger- 
man belt lies between the northern boundaries 
of Massachusetts and of Maryland, spreads west- 
ward north of the Ohio River to the Great Lakes 
and onward into the neighboring two tiers of 
trans-Mississippi states. In this great general 
zone the lands of densest settlements are along 
the coast, along the Mohawk Valley, and in 
Eastern Pennsylvania; also along the shores of 
Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and Michigan, along the 
Ohio River, and down the Mississippi from St. 
Paul to St. Louis. The states which contain the 
most native Germans are in order New York, 
Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 111 

German Characteristics* 

The Germans in the United States have fur- 
nished an example of the humbler virtues which 
constitute, nevertheless, the backbone of good 
citizenship, such as respect for the law, honesty 
and promptness in the discharge of business obli- 
gations, dogged persistence, industry, and econ- 
omy. 

Honesty. The German pays his debts. Hon- 
esty is the virtue which is the foundation of all 
business enterprise. The German tradesman, 
mechanic, and agriculturist possesses the quality 
from the earliest period. Dr. Rush, an early 
writer on German affairs in America, says: 
"They are industrious, frugal, punctual, and just. 
As merchants they are candid and punctual." 

Persistency. Professor F. J. Turner gives as 
one of the influences of the German element, 
that "they have infused into the American stock 
and society a conservatism and sturdy persist- 
ence and solidity useful in moderating the nerv- 
ous energy of the native American." The Ger- 
man, as farmer, mechanic, or business man, 
sticks to his colors; he is persistent, win or lose, 
in his particular profession; he continues in his 
devotion to it either reaching the goal or dying 
in the attempt. 

Love of Labor. Above all things the German 

* We are indebted to Faust's 'German Element in the 
United States' for this characterization of the Germans. 



112 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

loves his work. He is not forever exercising his 
ingenuity as to how he may do the least work 
for the most pay, or escape work altogether, but 
he plunges in and enjoys his work, knowing the 
force of the proverb, "Work makes life sweet." 

Sense of Duty. The sense of duty is inborn 
in the German, though he be unacquainted with 
the philosophy of Kant. It is a force within 
him as potent as the voice of conscience, and just 
as exacting. It keeps him at his work, forces 
him to respect law and authority, and frequently 
impels him to make sacrifice in which he loses 
all consideration of self. 

Simple Life and Love of Home. The German 
has furnished and continues to furnish an ex- 
ample of simple life and home life. The German 
is economical and thrifty, and has shown that 
plain living is conducive to health and progress. 
The middle-class German is fond of home life, 
and takes his family with him in pursuit of sim- 
ple pleasures. With excellent good-humor even 
the cultivated German accepts the conditions of 
plainest living until his estate improves. 

The Joy of Living. In taking pleasure after 
toil, in relaxing after tension, the German has 
furnished an example to the busy American, who 
takes even his pleasures strenuously. The Ger- 
man in his own country gives himself a good 
amount of leisure and healthful pleasure, and 
this trait enables him to keep his mind and body 
fresh, to safeguard against over-exertion, and 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 113 

to do better work for a longer time. But also 
as a corrective of too stern and austere a view 
of life, the German's "joy of living' ' has exerted 
a beneficent influence. 

The idea of an agricultural fair, which has 
become so popular in the farming districts of 
our country, is of German origin and comes from 
his idea of joy in living. 

The one celebration, now our grandest and 
sweetest of the year, into which the Germans 
have infused soul and beauty, is Christmas. They 
changed its character from that of solemnity to 
joy and impressed upon it the mood of peace and 
good will to men. They introduced the Christ- 
mas tree into this country and made it an uni- 
versal emblem. They developed the custom of 
giving Christmas gifts, beginning with the chil- 
dren. 

Care of Body. With all his idealism the Ger- 
man takes good care of his physical welfare, is 
fond of food and drink, and wherever he has 
gone has supplied himself abundantly with both. 
The Pennsylvania-German farmer may be taken 
as an illustration. Later immigration brought 
German physicians and druggists in great num- 
bers, who looked to the health, not only of their 
own people, but raised the standard of medical 
practice throughout the country. 

Individualism. A strong trait in the German 
is his individualism. It is seen in his independ- 
ence in politics, his particularism in religion, his 



114 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

agitation for personal liberty. He has no feeble 
fear of what his neighbors think of him, nor 
does he care to conform for the sake of conform- 
ity to the common pattern of wearing apparel 
and social form. This trait may frequently lead 
to excess, to isolation, or to lack of cooperation, 
but it is also an excellent bar against the crush- 
ing of individuality by commonplace democratic 
standards. 

Idealism. The trait of idealism should receive 
a word of comment. It has probably received more 
attention than any other characteristic of the 
Germans in books that have been written in hot 
haste, and speeches that have been made after 
dinner. Idealism is the heritage of the German 
through his literature, philosophy, and religion. 
In America, the German was met half-way by 
the idealism of the Puritanic element, and the 
two combined have created some of the grandest 
institutions in the country. Heretofore perhaps 
the idealism of the American has necessarily 
been directed towards the development of the 
great resources of the country; the German ele- 
ment also has numbers of representatives among 
the captains of industry. The idealism, however, 
which has acted as a social influence through 
the German element, and which should therefore 
be most appreciated, is that which has diverted 
attention from material things to those which 
make life more beautiful and joyous. That ideal- 
ism has been well defined by an American who 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 115 

has carefully studied the German here and 
abroad and twice represented the American na- 
tion in the home land of the German. 

Ambassador A. D. White says : "The dominant 
idea is, as I understand it, that the ultimate end 
of a great modern nation is something besides 
manufacturing, or carrying on commerce, or buy- 
ing or selling products; that art, literature, sci- 
ence and thought in its highest flights and widest 
ranges, are greater and more important; and 
that highest of all is the one growth for which 
all wealth exists — the higher and better devel- 
opment of man, not merely as a planner, or a 
worker, or a carrier, or a buyer or seller, but 
as a man. In no land has this idea penetrated 
more deeply than in Germany, and it is this idea 
which should penetrate more and more American 
thought and practice." 



CHAPTER VI. 

The People for Lutheran Home Missions, 

Continued. 
The Scandinavians and Slovaks. 



The Scandinavians have the honor of founding 
the first Lutheran Church in America and of con- 
tributing considerably to our colonial stock. The 
early Swedes on the Delaware proved themselves 
better colonists than the Dutch on the Hudson, 
but their real influence on the Lutheran Church 
in America and on the country in general did not 
begin until quite late in our history. It was in 
1824 that a little band of fifty Norwegians set 
sail for the New World. After encountering many 
hardships, their tedious journey came to an end, 
and they reached their destination and settled in 
La Salle county, Illinois, as farmers and lumber- 
men. The hardships and privations of this little 
colony were many, and not until 1837 was it 
joined by another party from the Old World. The 
second party having arrived, the next ten years 
saw the colony grow to five hundred. This really 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 117 

was the beginning of Scandinavian immigration 
into this country. The climate of Illinois did not 
agree with these Norsemen and they turned their 
eyes northward. They moved into Wisconsin and 
by 1845 their number had grown to something 
like ten thousand. 

The Swedes did not come to America for per- 
manent settlement until later, about 1852, but 
when once they did start, the current became so 
strong that it soon became an inundation. For 
a while it looked as though there would be more 
Swedes in America than in Sweden itself. 

Danish immigration was a little later than the 
Swedish, beginning about 1857. While Denmark 
is one of the small Scandinavian countries, yet 
it has furnished about one sixth of the Scandi- 
navian immigration into America. 

Like the Germans, the Scandinavians came to 
better their economic conditions, or to escape the 
rigorism of the established Church. It was a desire 
to secure for themselves rich farms in America 
in place of their own barren fields by the fjords 
of Scandinavia, a desire which not even the Civil 
War could abate, which induced 51,619 Scandi- 
navians to cast their lot with us between 1860 
and 1869. Rev. Chas. R. Keiter, writing in the 
Lutheran Church Review of July, 1912, says: 
"The glowing reports which these pioneers re- 
turned to the fatherland doubled Norse immigra- 
tion in the next decade when 317,698 Swedes, 
Danes, and Norwegians passed through the en- 



118 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

trance gates of Ellis Island. In the next ten 
years, 1880 — 90, the wave reached its climax, 
656,490 Scandinavians making their appearance 
during that time. The year 1882 marked their 
greatest inpouring, when 105,326 presented them- 
selves for admission to the United States. Since 
1890 there has been a marked decrease in the 
tide, as only 347,461 have come to America since 
that year. 

"All in all there have emigrated to the United 
States of these Northern people 1,415,051. Ad- 
ding to this number the number of inhabitants 
born of Scandinavian parents and subtracting 
from it 235,000 for those in the United States 
previous to 1840, and for those in territories out- 
side the continent or in Alaska, we find the total 
number of Scandinavian, Swedish, Danish, and 
Norwegian residents in the nation to be 2,500,- 
000." Roughly estimating the proportions we 
find that about one half are Swedes, nearly one 
third Norwegians, and about one sixth Danes. 

Of the total number about 365,000 are com- 
municant members of the Lutheran Church, an 
average percentage of fifteen to the total popula- 
tion. The remainder are Protestants or Agnos- 
tics. Up to this time the Scandinavian immigra- 
tion has contributed to the Lutheran Church in 
this country about twenty-two per cent, of its 
forces. In the light of these figures it can readily 
be seen that the Lutheran Church has a tremen- 
dous Home Mission work with the Scandinavian 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 119 

people alone. Much work has been done, but 
much more remains to be done. The Lutheran 
Church has wonderful opportunities with the 
Scandinavians. 

Characteristics of the Scandinavians. 

Strong individuality.* The most prominent of 
the characteristics of the Viking was his strong 
individuality. "His intense love for freedom," as 
Dr. 0. M. Nelson well says, "his overmastering 
desire for personal independence, amounted to a 
passion. He would endure the rigid climate of 
the North or the burning sun of the South, he 
would sleep beneath no other roof than the arch 
of heaven, eat bark for bread, drink rain as his 
beverage, make the wild forests his habitation and 
have wild beasts for his companions, but he would 
never give up one inch of his right as a free man. 
No king or ruler has been able for any length 
of time to be the absolute master of the Scandi- 
navian people. No foreign nation has been power- 
ful enough to subjugate them. Sweden and Den- 
mark have dethroned their obstinate monarchs. 
Norway has dared to draw the sword against 
Europe and demand national independence. The 
Scandinavians were the last people to submit to 
the yoke of Rome and the first to throw it off ... . 
To be free and independent has always been the 
greatest ambition of every true Northman, which 

* Credit is due to Dr. O. M. Nelson for much of the fol- 
lowing characterization of the Scandinavian people. 



120 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

is why he finds the atmosphere of this country so 
peculiarly congenial." 

Courage. ' 'Another characteristic feature," 
continues Dr. Nelson, "is courage. Whether we 
wander with the Goths when they plundered and 
destroyed Rome, or sail with the Danes and Nor- 
wegians when they dethroned English kings and 
humbled proud French monarchs, or live in the 
camp of the Swedes when Gustavus Adolphus or 
Charles the Twelfth dictated terms to Popes and 
Emperors, or accompany the Scandinavian emi- 
grants to the great Northwest of this land, when 
they cleared the dense forests of Wisconsin and 
subdued the wild prairies of Dakota, we find that 
they excel in edurance, heroism, and courage." 

Firmness and Determination. "Firmness and 
determination are other characteristic qualities. 
To the Scandinavian, in all the course of his his- 
tory, no defeat was final. Failure only meant 
delay. He overcame all opposition, conquered 
every obstacle, defied every difficulty. Mountains, 
oceans, deserts, rivers, must not hinder his pur- 
pose." 

Assimilate easily. Of all immigrants coming 
to our country none Americanize so rapidly and 
completely as the Scandinavians. There is a rea- 
son for this. They adapt themselves to American 
institutions with greater ease than other natio- 
nalities, not because their own nationality is de- 
void of strong characteristics, but because they 
have certain fundamental traits in common with 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 121 

us and are, therefore, less in need of adaptation. 
In the old country they are accustomed to par- 
ticipate in the management of their communal 
affairs and to vote for their representative in the 
National Parliament. The sense of interest in 
public affairs and a critical attitude towards the 
acts of the government are nowhere so general 
among rich and poor alike as in Sweden and Nor- 
way. No great effort, therefore, is required on 
the part of these Scandinavians to transfer their 
interests in public affairs to the affairs of their 
adopted country. With increasing prosperity 
comes a sense of loyalty to the flag and they be- 
come proud of the fact that they are Americans. 
A larger proportion of Scandinavian immigrants 
take out naturalization papers than any other 
people coming to this country. 

Patriotism. Though proud of their Scandina- 
vian ancestry they love America and American 
institutions as deeply and truly as do the descend- 
ants of the Pilgrims. The Stars and Stripes mean 
as much to them as to any other citizen. There- 
fore the Scandinavian American feels a certain 
sense of ownership in the glorious heritage of this 
magnificent country with its rivers and moun- 
tains, its lakes and forests, and all its noble free 
institutions. He feels that these blessings which 
he enjoys are his, not by favor or sufferance, but 
by right, by moral as well as by civil right. For 
he took possession of the wilderness, endured the 
hardships of the pioneer, contributed his full 

Lutheran Home Missions. Q 



122 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

share towards the grand results accomplished, and 
is in mind and heart a true and loyal American 
citizen. In war and peace, in literature and com- 
merce, in the pulpits and legislative halls, they 
have done their full duty towards this their 
adopted country and have been an honor to their 
native land. 

Take to the soil. Of the Scandinavians who 
have come to this country in the past, one out of 
four has engaged in farming. Of the other na- 
tionalities, one out of six of native Americans, 
one out of seven of the Germans, and one out of 
twelve of the Irish takes to the soil. It is largely 
on account of their great love and fitness for 
farming that the Scandinavians have been con- 
sidered by nearly all American political economists 
to be the best immigrants which this country re- 
ceives. One authority says "It is to the Scandi- 
navian immigrants from Sweden, Norway, and 
Denmark that the Northwest is largely indebted 
for its marvelous development. They succeed in 
farming that territory where the Americans with 
a better start failed." 

Prof. Babcock of the University of Minnesota, 
who has made a special study of the Scandinavians 
in this country, says: "The passion for the pos- 
session of land, and for the independence which 
goes with it, has characterized the Scandinavians 
from the earliest times, and it is this which makes 
them such valuable citizens of the Northwest. 
Had they preferred to huddle together in large 



THE PEOPLE FOE LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 123 

cities, the progress of this important part of our 
country would have been much slower. Up to 
within the last ten years the towns have claimed 
only a small percentage and even now not more 
than probably ten per cent, settle in towns. Lim- 
ited means, a spirit of economy, fearlessness of 
hard work and temporary privations have made 
them the best kind of pioneers in settling new ter- 
ritory. ... As a people they are sober, earnest, 
industrious and frugal. They are not driven here. 
They come of their own accord, and come to stay, 
not to get a few hundred dollars and return to a 
life of idleness. They come not to destroy our 
American institutions, but to build them up by 
heartily adopting them. They come from coun- 
tries not potent or glorious in European affairs, 
and therefore they more readily denationalize 
themselves that they may become entirely Ameri- 
can. The most of them are plain common people, 
strong, sturdy, independent, requiring to unlearn 
little, ready to learn much and able to learn it 
well. They still have the same powers of adapta- 
bility and assimilation that made Rollo and his 
Norsemen such good Frenchmen and Guthrun and 
his Danes such excellent Englishmen. And using 
these powers among us to-day they are rapidly 
becoming, nay, they are already, irreproachably 
and unimpeachably Americans." 

Not exploiters. "There is no nation in Europe 
that has less sympathy with Utopian aspirations 
than the people of Sweden and Norway. They 



124 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

have been trained from birth to industry, frugali- 
ty and manly self-restraint by their own free in- 
stitutions at home and the scant resources of 
their native lands. The moderation and self- 
restraint, inherited in the cold blood of the North, 
makes them constitutionally inclined to trust in 
slow and orderly methods, rather than swift and 
violent ones. They come here with no millenial 
expectations, doomed to bitter disappointment, but 
simply with the hope of gaining by hard and un- 
remitting toil a modest competency. They demand 
less of life than the Continental immigrant of the 
corresponding class, and for this reason usually 
attain more. The instinct to save is strong in 
the majority of them, and save they do, when their 
neighbors of less frugal habits are running be- 
hind. The poor soil of the Fatherland and the 
hardships incident upon a rough climate have ac- 
customed them to a struggle for existence scarce- 
ly less severe than that of the Western pioneer ; 
and in their home land this struggle was unil- 
luminated by any hope of improved conditions for 
the future. The qualities of perseverance, thrift 
and a sturdy sense of independence which this 
struggle from generation to generation has de- 
veloped are the very ones which must constitute 
the cornerstone of an enduring republic." 

Lawabiding. According to the census reports 
the Scandinavians have the best record of any 
nationality in this country, either foreign or na- 
tive, in regard to crimes, insanity, pauperism, 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 125 

deaf and dumb, and blind. Senator Mark Hanna 
once declared it to be his personal conviction that 
the best immigrants who came to America were 
the Scandinavians. 

Prescot F. Hall, an authority on immigration, 
says of the Scandinavians : "The most important 
characteristics of the Scandinavians who have 
come in the past have been their attachment to 
the soil and their tendency to settle new parts 
of the country. States like Wisconsin, Minnesota, 
and the Dakotas were practically founded by the 
Scandinavian immigrants. They assimilate read- 
ily, take part in politics, usually on the side of 
good government, and they are in every way a 
desirable addition to the country. Even where 
they enter trades, like the clothing trade, they 
work under hygienic conditions and make use of 
machinery. They send their children to school 
instead of putting them into the shop. They are 
also free from serious crimes, although not from 
small misdemeanors. They have no special ten- 
dency to form colonies, and owing to their univer- 
sal education soon learn English." 

Religious characteristics. The Scandinavian is 
a religious man. He has been educated in the 
things that pertain to his spiritual welfare. In 
the old country his religious education was just 
as much part of his childhood training as his 
secular education. It was just as important for 
him to know his Bible history as it was for him 
to know the history of his country. To be a citi- 



126 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

zen he had to be confirmed in the State Church. 
Dr. G. W. Sandt has given an excellent characteri- 
zation of the religion of the Scandinavian which 
we quote: "There is much in the Norse religious 
temperament and character that makes it a more 
easy prey to sectarianism than is the case with 
the more phlegmatic German. There is a sim- 
plicity and guilelessness about it which is in 
striking contrast with much American religious 
duplicity and which is easily taken advantage of. 
It will often trust itself to any leadership that 
impresses itself as earnest, sympathetic and sin- 
cere, and as the emotional element plays a large 
part in the religious life of many Scandinavians, 
sectarianism has an advantage as over against 
state-church dead orthodoxism, that must be taken 
into serious account. While there is an element 
of agility, vivacity and responsiveness in the 
Scandinavian character which is proving to be of 
great value to American Lutheranism, this very 
quality often means the undoing of Lutheranism. 
Zeal, earnestness, pathos will, as a rule, appeal 
more strongly to a Scandinavian than it will to a 
German. As one of our Swedish brethren well 
said : 'The Swede feels first and thinks afterwards, 
whereas the German thinks first and then feels/ 
It is this very characteristic of the Scandinavian 
that makes him often so responsive to sectarian 
appeals. This is also the reason why it is com- 
paratively easy to win him for the Lutheran 
Church when he sets foot on American soil." 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 127 

The Slovaks. 

In late years the Slavic people from the eastern 
and southeastern parts of Europe have been com- 
ing to this country in large numbers. Many of 
them hold to the Lutheran faith, and this gives 
the Lutheran Church in this country another im- 
portant Home Mission work. 

The Slovak* Of the various Slavic nationali- 
ties our Church has been most successful among 
the Slovaks. The Slovaks come for northern 
Hungary. In their native land they number 
about two millions and are closely akin to the 
Bohemians and Moravians. They constitute the 
trunk of the great Slavonic national tree, from 
which have branched so many Slav people, at the 
head of which now stands the powerful Russian 
empire. From prehistoric times the Slovaks were 
celebrated as a peaceful, industrious people, fond 
of agriculture and pastoral life. 

The first Slovak immigration into this country 
was from the agricultural class, and the settle- 
ment was made in Pennsylvania. There are hun- 
dreds of Slovak farmers in Pennsylvania, Con- 
necticut and Ohio. In Minnesota, Arkansas, Vir- 
giania, and Wisconsin there are large colonies 
of them. 

The Slovaks have come to this country at the 
rate of 38,000 a year. It is estimated that there 

* We are indebted to the writings of Dr. A. L. Ramer for 
much that we say about the Slovak people. 



128 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

are more than 400,000 in this country, with 150,- 
000 in Pennsylvania alone. Two thirds of these 
immigrants are men. They usually live in very 
poor and crowded quarters, one family having 
sometimes from fifteen to twenty boarders, under 
conditions far from cleanly or sanitary. 

There are nearly as many newspapers in the 
United States in the Slovak language as in Hun- 
gary, with a much larger total circulation. The 
Slovaks have almost captured the wire and tin- 
ware factories in this country. In the homeland 
the Slovaks made the tinware of Europe for cen- 
turies. 

They are a great people for organization. The 
National Slovonic Society was organized in Pitts- 
burg in 1890 and now has about 600 lodges. It 
is primarily a beneficial organization, but has 
done a valuable work in educating its members 
and inducing them to become American citizens. 

Professor Steiner, who has made a study of 
the Slovaks, — their life and habits in America — , 
states that they are considered by tradesmen their 
most honest customers. One merchant who has 
dealt with them for twenty years, who has carried 
them from pay day to pay day and through strikes 
and lay-offs, says that he never lost a cent through 
them, while his losses from other miners were 
from fifteen to thirty-five per cent. 

The Slovak people have settled chiefly in the 
coal and cement regions of our country, but there 
are some to be found in all the great industrial 



THE PEOPLE FOR LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 129 

centers of the land. About one fourth of the 
Slovaks coming to this country are illiterate. 

Religious Condition. Among all the Slavs the 
Slovaks are the most responsive to religious in- 
fluences. It is estimated that there are at least 
twenty thousand Lutheran Slovaks in the United 
States, of whom no less than ten thousand live 
in Pennsylvania. Because of their foreign lan- 
guage they have stood aloof from our Church, 
and we have failed to find them or even seek 
them. Our largest number of Lutheran immi- 
grants at present is found among the Slovaks. 

Flourishing congregations have been organized 
among them enjoying all church privileges and 
pastoral ministrations. The present number of 
Slovak Lutheran ministers in America is about 
thirty. Sixteen of these are affiliated with the 
Missouri Synod, eight with the General Council, 
and six are independent. 

In many localities the people have no regular 
service. If there be a sufficient number of them 
they secure the services of some Slovak minister 
to visit them occasionally and administer the Holy 
Communion. From this practice a sad condition 
is slowly establishing itself, namely, certain com- 
munities seem to be satisfied with an annual com- 
munion service as their only assembly in all the 
year. Many sections of the country have not yet 
been canvassed where it is reasonable to expect 
that Slovak Lutherans are living. There is a 
Slovak Lutheran benevolent association which has 



130 - LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

at least two hundred subsidiary local societies. 
But not all our men belong to this society, and 
hence it is hard to locate them, unless by an 
actual house-to-house canvass in the foreign quar- 
ters of our cities and mining settlements. 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Relation of the Church to Home 
Missions. 

The success of our Home Mission work depends 
upon the attitude the Church takes towards it. 
Our Home Mission work will never make the 
progress it should until the whole Church realizes 
its duty towards this important enterprise. Here 
and there the Church is awakening, but as a whole 
it is not doing its duty. We have the opportunity 
and we have the people, but until our people be- 
come interested our work will drag. The Church 
must understand its relation to this tremendous 
work. The Home Mission work of this country 
demands the united support of the whole Church. 
Every congregation has a duty to Home Mission 
work, and it should know that duty and should 
strive to fulfil it. Anything that will speed the day 
when every congregation shall be interested in 
Home Missions, will hasten the day when the 
Church can more fully do its Home Mission work. 



132 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

The Church has the only Instruments through 

which Home Missions can be Promoted, 

— the Means of Grace. 

Our Evangelical Lutheran Church knows of 
no means of bringing men into the kingdom of 
God other than the means of grace — the Word of 
God and the Sacraments. These means are the 
only effective ones, and these means the Church 
possesses. Home Mission work is not a socio- 
logical propaganda. Its object it not to alleviate 
physical, but spiritual conditions. Home Missions 
aim at touching men's hearts through the Word 
of God and bringing them to a consciousness of 
their sin and their need of a Saviour, seeking 
the spiritual welfare first, and afterwards allevi- 
ating worldly conditions. In all spiritual en- 
deavor God has limited us to the means of grace. 
These the Church has in its possession, and it 
must use them. The instruments in the hands of 
the Church for carrying on its Home Mission 
work are the preaching of the Gospel and the 
administration of the Sacraments. Everything 
else is only an aid and not real means. God has 
given to the Church these means and it is to use 
them in its aggressive campaign for saving souls. 

In limiting the Church to the preaching of the 
Word and the administration of the Sacraments 
God has not curtailed its power but has given 
it a definite program. Suppose for a moment that 
He had not given the Church this definite pro- 



THE CHUKCH AND HOME MISSIONS 133 

gram, what a medley of methods we would have. 
One missionary would be trying this and another 
that, each without success. But God has fore- 
stalled such work by giving the Church definite 
means and a distinct program. 

The Church is under Obligations to Spread these 

Means. 

Having thus intrusted the Church with the 
means of grace God has laid it under obligations 
to use them. When the Church neglects to preach 
the Word and administer the Sacraments, then 
it is unfaithful to its trust. In His great commis- 
sion the Saviour distinctly charged His disciples 
to preach the Gospel "to the lost sheep of the 
house of Israel." This commission is binding 
upon the Church to-day. The Lutheran Church 
must preach the Gospel to the scattered brethren 
of its own household, or it is unfaithful to that 
commission. When the Church fails to do its 
Home Mission work it fails to carry out the divine 
commission of its Lord. The Church is under 
obligation to spread the means of grace through 
its Home Mission agencies. 

The Church has the Necessary Requirements 
within Itself. 

The Lord never yet gave a work to any 
Church that He did not at the same time give it 
the ability to carry on that work. God has given 
the Lutheran Church a great Home Mission work 



134 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

and He has given it the necessary equipments 
with which to carry on this work. The Home 
Mission propaganda requires men and money, and 
our Church has both. Statistics show that, in 
proportion to its membership, the Lutheran 
Church has more men attending its services than 
any other Protestant body in the land. We have 
the men, but the trouble has been that they have 
not given themselves to the work. The Church 
never can do its Home Mission work until more 
men enter the ministry. The great dearth of men 
for the ministry has hindered the Home Mission 
work. The men of our Church must be aroused 
so that they will consecrate their manhood on the 
altar of God's service and go out and preach the 
Gospel to the thousands of their brethren who are 
yet without the ministrations of our Church. 

Not only does our Church have the men but 
it has the money. There was a time when the 
Lutheran Church was poor, but that time has 
passed. The members of our Church are just as 
thrifty as the members of any other Church and 
they have in their possession the means for con- 
ducting our Home Mission work. But as yet they 
have not learned to consecrate their means to the 
work of the Lord. If the Lutheran people of this 
country would give to the cause of Home Missions 
as they are able to give, our Church could do 
five or ten times more Home Mission work than 
it is now doing. There is no lack of means, but 
there is lack of consecration. Until our people 



THE CHUKCH AND HOME MISSIONS 135 

do consecrate more of their worldly possessions 
to the cause, the work of Home Missions will be 
retarded. May God speed the day when the 
money will be forthcoming to send out more la- 
borers into our great Home Mission field. 

The Relation of the Local Congregation to Home 

Missions, 

Undoubtedly the local congregation holds the 
key to the whole Home Mission situation. When 
the congregations fail to do their duty, then 
the Church fails. If the cause of Home Mis- 
sions is to be advanced, the congregations must 
be instructed and interested. Every congrega- 
tion has a duty towards Home Missions, and 
it must fulfil that duty. The work of Home Mis- 
sions has been before our Church for more than 
fifty years, and yet many of our congregations do 
little or nothing for this cause. The time has 
come when the local congregation must be made 
to see its duty, held responsible for that duty, 
and be censured when it does not fulfil that duty. 
The day of small things is passed. The era of 
large enterprises is upon us. The time has come 
when team work, instead of individual effort, 
counts. Our congregations must learn to do team 
work. They must learn that when one fails to 
do its duty, then the whole effort of the Church is 
crippled. Each local congregation must take its 
place in this great engagement and must strive 
manfully. Only when every congregation does its 



136 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

duty can it be said that the Church it putting 
forth its best effort at this work. 

It should Have a Pastor Interested in Home 

Missions. 

The interest and liberality of a congregation 
depends, to a very large degree, upon the pas- 
tor. When he properly instructs the congre- 
gation about the needs, and appeals for aid, the 
people will respond, but when he is silent they are 
not responsive. The pastor can open or close the 
door of Home Mission effort in the congregation. 
We quote Rev. B. Sadtler : "It is folly to look for 
results if the pastors do not come to the aid of 
their secretaries or superintendents by keeping 
their flocks informed as to the magnitude of the 
work. I am afraid some pastors reason that if a 
superintendent is appointed, that ends their re- 
sponsibility; it is his business to plant and foster 
the missions. Over forty years of observation 
in our ministry have shown me that where our 
churches have been rightly instructed they are 
as liberal and as responsive to proper appeals as 
those of any other name. No one has the right 
to call our people niggard and stingy, when they 
have been properly taught, by word and example, 
by their pastors as to the claims of Christ's king- 
dom upon their purses. I have in my mind's eye 
a church whose pastor never asked for a collection 
for any benevolent purpose, and when he went to 
synod, he paid the contribution to its treasury 



THE CHURCH AND HOME MISSIONS 137 

— ten whole dollars — out of his own pocket. That 
was fifty years ago. Last year that same church 
contributed over $7,000 to the causes of education 
and missions. The truth is, the pulpit is generally 
more to blame than the pew when the benevolence 
money gleans in but here and there an ear, in- 
stead of sheaves. ,, When a pastor is interested 
in Home Missions, his congregation will also be 
interested. But when he takes no interest, then 
his congregation will show the same spirit. Every 
congregation should have a pastor who is inter- 
ested in Home Missions. 

It should be Informed on the Subject. 

No congregation will respond to a cause it 
knows nothing about. Our congregations need to 
be thoroughly informed about Home Missions. 
Home Mission services and festivals should be held 
in every church frequently. Home Mission work- 
ers should be invited to speak in every church as 
often as possible. The needs and opportunities of 
the work must be made known to the people and 
must be impressed upon them as vividly as pos- 
sible. One reason our Home Mission work has 
been slow is that our people have been ignorant 
about it. We have depended upon our church 
papers to inform the people, when the papers 
reach only a very small part of the total member- 
ship. In late years a feeble effort to produce Home 
Mission literature has been made, but it has been 
a very feeble one. An educational propaganda 

Lutheran Home Missions. 10 



138 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

must be inaugurated in each congregation. When 
every member of every congregation is thoroughly 
informed, then our people will respond with a 
liberality undreamed of before. 

It should have an Interest in a Particular 

Mission. 

Experience shows that when a congregation 
has an interest in a special mission it does much 
more for the work. It is our firm conviction that 
every Lutheran congregation should have a mis- 
sion congregation as its special charge. We quote 
from an article written by some one who signs 
himself "ex-missionary." "Why do we so largely 
fail in our efforts to interest our congregations 
in mission work? We lay the great work before 
them; we tell them of pressing needs; of thou- 
sands, if not millions, of Lutherans who are as 
sheep without a shepherd; of great cities and 
growing towns where mission work must be be- 
gun; of the great future that lies before the Lu- 
theran Church in this country, if she will but 
grasp her opportunity; and when our speech is 
ended we observe in a few instances an increase 
of missionary zeal, an increase in the offerings 
perhaps, along with considerable faultfinding be- 
cause the pastor has been begging for somebody 
with whom they as individuals have nothing to do. 

Now our mistake is not that we give our people 
too much of such information, but rather the re- 
verse; nor is it that we do not sufficiently urge 



THE CHURCH AND HOME MISSIONS 139 

our congregations to give — there are perhaps 
more cases where giving is unwisely urged than 
where it is wisely urged — our mistake is that we 
do not seek to interest our congregations in some 
specific mission work. Now, how can this be 
done? The plan I have to suggest would in a large 
measure necessitate a change of method in mis- 
sion work and for that reason would not be ex- 
pected to commend itself very strongly to the 
judgment of all before it could be adopted. The 
change, however, would be a simple one. 

The plan. 1. Let every congregation be ex- 
pected to make up a small apportionment for 
general Home Mission work. 2. Then let each 
congregation be expected to support or aid in 
supporting some particular mission under a sys- 
tem of well-defined regulations. 

The benefits. 1. It will greatly increase the 
interest in mission work. It is well known how 
much deeper an interest is manifested when the 
appeal is specific rather than general. Let us 
suppose a case: The pastor informs his people 
that there are a dozen or more missionaries in 
as many important cities whose salaries must be 
paid and their work supported. He then grows 
eloquent on the importance of the work they are 
doing and tells of the disasters that must follow 
if their work is not properly sustained. Of course 
the people will respond. They must. It is a 
Christian duty. How can they get out of it? 
But so far as genuine interest in the work is 



140 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

concerned they have made no perceptible advance. 
Mission work has not sufficiently been brought 
home to them. The appeal is too general. They 
drop their dollar or so into the plate, and then it 
becomes lost in the general treasury, and they 
can follow it no further. What a gain it would 
be to them in the way of heartfelt interest if 
they could follow their dollar to some particular 
spot and could see it in the shape of bread on 
some missionary's table or brick and mortar or 
timber in some modest chapel ? 

Now let us suppose another case: The pastor 
informs his people that in a certain town or city 
of great or growing importance there are multi- 
tudes of Lutherans uncared for. Immediate ac- 
tion is imperative. While other denominations 
with not half the prospects before them are build- 
ing handsome churches or chapels and manning 
them, we are doing nothing. The guardianship 
of Lutheran interests in this town or city has 
been assigned to this congregation (or these con- 
gregations, as the case may be) by the executive 
committee, and you are expected to push the 
work with all possible energy. This will be your 
special task in Home Mission work. 

What will be the result? A new interest has 
been aroused. Home Missions is no longer a gen- 
eral or indefinite matter, it has been brought 
home to them. They know the city, the pastor, 
and the name of the congregation whose cause 
they are to espouse. They can not take refuge in 



THE CHURCH AND HOME MISSIONS 141 

the woods (behind more liberal and active con- 
gregations) ; they have assumed an individual 
rather than a corporate or synodical responsibili- 
ty. They have adopted a child and will naturally 
become more deeply interested in it than they 
would in an Orphans' Home. They will hear what 
other congregations are doing in other fields and 
be stimulated to greater exertions. Their ener- 
gies have been focused upon some one point and 
their work will tell in such a way that they can 
see it and follow it. 

2. It would greatly increase the contributions. 
This follows from what has already been said. 
Increase interest and you increase liberality. 

3. It would prove a wonderful support to the 
struggling missionary. It may safely be said that 
one half the ministers of the synod know little or 
nothing of the soul-depressing force that springs 
from the consciousness of being alone and insuf- 
ficient in a work of overwhelming importance 
Let the missionary feel that there is some one 
to whom he can go in his troubles. Give him a 
sure retreat. Let him know that there is a con- 
gregation, or more, who are the sponsors of the 
little mission to whom he can make known his 
wants and with whom he can consult on the terms 
of intimacy as with a father. His requests, of 
course, will always seem extravagant and will 
seldom be granted in full, but he has this con- 
solation — he does not stand alone, some one, to 
whom he can write, or with whom he can con- 



142 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

verse and unburden himself, is championing his 
cause." 

It should Send its Pastor to Visit the Home 
Mission Field. 

If the local congregation thus takes up a mis- 
sion congregation as its special charge, then it 
should send its pastor to visit that mission. In 
this way a living contact will be established be- 
tween mother and child. But if a congregation 
has not assumed the support of a mission, it 
should send its pastor through the Home Mission 
field. In this way he will personally become ac- 
quainted with the work and will be more able 
to talk and preach upon the subject. When pas- 
tors have first hand knowledge of the mission 
situation, then they can speak with understanding 
and authority. One home missionary, who had 
been on the field for a long time, says of this 
plan : "I know of nothing that would give such an 
impetus to our Home Mission work here in the 
Northwest, and all over the Union for that mat- 
ter, than that the head of each congregation 
should thus acquaint himself with the great needs 
of the Church." 

Many of the Swedish Lutheran congregations 
have the custom of sending their pastors on vaca- 
tions to visit the mission congregations, preach 
to them and encourage them. That this is a good 
custom is shown from the way the Swedes have 
been succeeding in their Home Mission work. 



THE CHURCH AND HOME MISSIONS 143 

Occasionally some of our other congregations have 
done this, and it invariably has produced an en- 
thusiasm for Home Missions. We wish the day 
was at hand when every pastor in the Lutheran 
Church knew the Home Mission field from per- 
sonal investigation. When the day comes that 
our pastors can study the field with their own 
eyes, then the time will quickly come when our 
churches will supply all the men and means that 
are needed. The congregation that sends its pas- 
tor to study the work on the field does a great 
work for Home Missions. 

It should have a Missionary Society. 

We take it for granted that every Lutheran 
congregation gives to the cause of Home Mis- 
sions through the apportionment system and by 
direct gifts. But this is not enough. It should 
have a missionary society. This society can 
be of great service to the mission cause and 
to the congregation. This society should give 
much time to the study of Home Missions. It 
should endeavor to interest the whole congrega- 
tion in missions. Usually the spirit of this so- 
ciety is the missionary spirit of the congregation. 
It is possible for such a society to take up some 
special work on the Home Mission field. Here is 
an opportunity for every congregation to come 
into living contact with the work of Home Mis- 
sions. In this society the pastor will be the chief 
factor. He must direct its studies and its energy. 



144 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

He can make it useful or useless. We will gladly 
hail the day when our congregations everywhere 
will have missionary societies which are studying 
the Home Mission situation, for this will mean 
interest and support. 

The Sunday-school and Home Missions. 

While we lament the inactivity in the past, 
there is a door of hope. This inactivity can be 
remedied through the Sunday-school. The rising 
generation is ready to be taught the great needs, 
and when taught it will respond. There is no 
place where the Home Mission spirit can be quick- 
ened more readily than in the Sunday-school. The 
children welcome the story of Home Missions and 
they respond with a wholeheartedness that is in- 
spiring. The Sunday-school can be made the right 
arm of Home Mission work in the congregation. 
The best way to reach the school is through the 
regular teachers. Occasional addresses and serv- 
ices are good, but the teachers must be set to 
teaching Home Missions. They must set definitely 
before the children the missionary idea. They 
should give prominence in their teaching to the 
subject of Home Missions. The teachers should 
cultivate the habit of illustrating truth with facts 
and incidents taken from the Home Mission field. 
Of course the habit of giving to Home Missions 
should be cultivated in the school. The future of 
the Church lies with the Sunday-school, and the 
future of our Home Mission work depends upon 



THE CHURCH AND HOME MISSIONS 145 

the interest we can arouse in the rising genera- 
tion, and the place to reach that generation is in 
the school. 

The Theological Seminary and Home Missions. 

It may indeed seem strange, but most of our 
seminaries have forgotten to teach Home Mis- 
sions. We know of only one seminary in the land 
that makes any attempt at having a regular 
course of study on the subject. When even our 
pastors are not taught Home Missions, can we 
wonder that our people know so little about it? 
It is not our purpose to tell the seminaries what 
they should do, but surely they have a duty in 
this matter. They have courses of study on For- 
eign and Inner missions, and surely they should 
give Home Missions a place in their curriculums. 
It is our opinion that the seminary that does not 
have a regular course of study on Home Missions 
is not educating the future pastors of the Church 
as it should. The Church is demanding missio- 
nary pastors, and it is the duty of the seminary 
to train them and supply the demand. 

Besides a regular course of study the seminary 
could provide lectures on the subject. Missionary 
workers who understand the work should be in- 
vited to speak to the students. This would give 
the students the benefit of the experience of those 
in the work, and would bring the seminary and 
Home Missions together in a happy manner. 

The seminary could establish a museum of 



146 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

Home Missions, relics from the pioneers, pictures 
of the early buildings and of present churches 
which were once missions, illustrations of chapels, 
etc., would do much towards creating a missio- 
nary enthusiasm. 

The students should have opportunity to do 
Home Missionary work under the supervision of 
the seminary. In this way they would become 
acquainted with the work and would be able to 
instruct and lead their churches when they be- 
come pastors. 

The Religious Press and Home Missions. 

The religious press can be a powerful adjunct to 
Home Missions. Through its correspondence and 
articles it can keep the work before the public and 
thus create an interest. Our Church is now pro- 
ducing a few good Home Mission papers, but the 
church papers in general should give Home Mis- 
sions a wide space in their columns. 



^$^ 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Home Mission Forces. 

The Home Mission Board and Superintendent. 
The Home Mission Board. 

At the head of all Home Mission work stands 
the Home Mission Board. It is absolutely neces- 
sary to have a board to direct and control the 
work of Home Missions. In the early days the 
work was carried on without a board, but it could 
not be done that way now. To be successful, 
Home Mission work must be organized. The bet- 
ter organized the board is, the better work it 
will do. 

Its Organization. 

The various synods have different ways of ap- 
pointing their Home Mission boards. Invariab- 
ly the board is a creature of the synod, and is 
amenable to the synod. So far as we know, there 
never has been an independent Home Missionary 
agency in this country. It is well that there have 
been no such agencies. Home Mission work is 



148 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

the work of the Church as a whole, and should 
be carried on by the whole Church. An indepen- 
dent board could not do the work, because it could 
not appeal to the Church as a whole for moral 
and financial support. 

The success or failure of Home Mission work 
depends upon the board, consequently its organi- 
zation is of the highest importance. The very 
best men of the Church should be selected to serve 
on this board. Men with vision and inspiration 
are indispensable to its success. The members of 
this board must be men with enthusiasm and 
faith, men with an outlook as broad as the nation 
and as long as eternity itself. Nothing is so 
detrimental to Home Mission work as provincia- 
lism. To have a board that cannot see farther 
than the boundaries of a local synod or given ter- 
ritory is unfortunate. In the past too little atten- 
tion has been paid by the Church to the selection 
of the members of the Home Mission board. Too 
often it has been thought that all that was neces- 
sary was to have a good leader. A good leader 
is necessary, but what can a leader do when his 
comrades refuse to follow? The time has come 
when the best clergymen and the best laymen in 
the Church must serve on the Home Mission 
board. Nothing short of the best will do. There 
is no work in the Church of this country which 
demands the attention that Home Missions de- 
mand. To direct this work properly will take 
the wisdom and experience of the best men of 



HOME MISSION FORCES 149 

the Church. The future of the Lutheran Church 
is in the hands of its Home Mission boards, and 
surely these boards should be composed of the 
very best men the Church has. 

The General Council has developed a happy 
plan in organizing its English Home Mission 
board. Seven members are elected by the Council 
and one member by each synod that is affiliated 
in the work. This gives representation, outlook 
and stability to the board and has proven to be 
the best way. The members at large will keep 
the work from becoming local, and the synodical 
representatives will see to it that no section is 
overlooked. This method does not limit the mem- 
bership of the board but increases it in propor- 
tion to the number of affiliated synods. 

Its Outlook and Grasp of the Situation. 

It is impossible for the Church as a whole to 
study the Home Mission situation at first hand. 
This work it delgates to the board. The progress 
of the whole enterprise will depend upon the abil- 
ity of the board to get and give a proper out- 
look. Let the board have a narrow vision, and 
its efforts will be feeble and the results will be 
correspondingly small. But let the board have a 
broad outlook and a hopeful grasp of the situa- 
tion, and the work will go forward by leaps and 
bounds. 

Not only must the board have a broad outlook 
but it must have a firm grasp of the situation. 



150 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

It may be that the board has the necessary vision 
but it is incapable of putting to work forces that 
will bring the vision into reality. The real test 
of the board lies just here. A board with a vision 
but incapable of reducing that vision to reality, 
is an inefficient board. The outlook is easy to 
get, but the practical ability of carrying on the 
work in an effective manner is altogether another 
thing. 

A proper outlook and a firm grasp of the situ- 
ation demand experts in the work of Home Mis- 
sions. Up to this time the Church has produced 
few experts. In order to get the right outlook 
and grasp of the situation the boards must set 
men to investigating and studying conditions. We 
are happy to say that a beginning has been made, 
but sorry that the Church delayed so long. 

The Board of English Home Missions of the 
General Council has devised a plan of field workers 
which is proving very successful. This board has 
field missionaries and district superintendents 
who look after the work. The field missionary 
is a man trained in Home Mission work who stud- 
ies the field, begins the work, and brings it up to 
the point where a settled pastor can be called. 
The success of this system has been astonishing 
and promises much more for the future. In this 
way the early struggles of a mission are directed 
by a man who has had experience, and who knows 
the difficulties and how to handle them. The 
Church needs more such men. Such men will be 



HOME MISSION FORCES 151 

able to grasp the situation and help the board to 
carry forward the work in an intelligent manner. 

Its Mission Policy. 

The mission policy of the board will be deter- 
mined by its outlook and grasp of the situation. 
The policy it pursues will determine the results 
to be accomplished. In the past too many of our 
boards have pauperized the missions. They have 
gone on the assumption that they were to conduct 
a mission work in a certain locality instead of 
aiding and encouraging the people in that locality 
to conduct a mission work. But years of exper- 
ience have taught us that it is not good policy 
to give too much financial aid to a mission. That 
policy which helps a mission to help itself is the 
best policy. 

Not only in the matter of aid but in the matter 
of supervision is the policy of the board import- 
ant. The rule has been, a maximum of aid with 
a minimum of supervision, but experience has 
shown that exactly the opposite is the correct 
policy. A minimum of aid with a maximum of 
supervision produces the quickest, largest and 
most lasting results. As a rule the membership 
of a mission is composed of people with very lit- 
tle experience in conducting congregational ac- 
tivity, and consequently they need careful shep- 
herding. The missionary pastor is supposed to 
do this shepherding, but occasions arise time and 
again when the board must explain and adjust 



152 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

matters. Since our mission boards are more 
carefully supervising the missions, more progress 
is being made. 

Of course, the board dare not assume the atti- 
tude of dictator. It is the function of the board 
to lead and aid, not to drive. A policy that cre- 
ates confidence and begets mutual friendliness 
between the board, the mission, and the mission- 
ary pastor is the only policy that can be followed. 

Its Method of Finance. 

Outlook and policy amount to little unless the 
board has funds with which to carry out its 
plans. It takes large sums of money to carry on 
mission work. A board without funds is like a 
locomotive without steam, incapable of making 
progress. The amount of support given to the 
board by the Church determines the amount of 
missionary work that is to be done. Hence the 
financial support of the board is of the greatest 
importance. 

Formerly most of our boards had no definite 
income. They had to depend upon the voluntary 
gifts of the people, and the amount of that offer- 
ing was very uncertain. Such a method of finance 
impeded the work. It was impossible to under- 
take an aggressive campaign for Home Missions, 
not knowing whether the board would have the 
money to bring such a campaign to a successful 
finish. It was not infrequent for the missionary 
pastor to have to leave his field of labor and go 



HOME MISSION FORCES 153 

out among the congregations and solicit aid for 
his mission. Such a method proved disastrous to 
the mission and disheartening to the missionary. 

Its Support from the Church. 

The success of the board depends upon the 
financial support it has. This support must come 
from the Church at large. The board cannot rely 
upon funds from a few individuals, a few con- 
gregations, or even a few synods. The whole 
Church must support the board. Every Lutheran 
congregation in the land should give a regularly 
stipulated amount for Home Mission work. 

To secure this support the Church must be 
made to understand the importance of the work. 
A flood of literature and a campaign of informa- 
tion will be necessary to educate the membership 
of the Church so that it will respond liberally. 
Thus far the support of the Church has not been 
adequate to the needs. It is a good sign when 
the boards begin to produce a Home Mission 
literature. Some of our boards have made com- 
mendable beginnings, but much remains to be 
done. Home Mission work will lag until the 
boards get the hearty support of the whole 
Church. Anything that will hasten the day when 
that full support shall be given will be a godsend 
to the cause of Home Missions. 

Since the introduction of the apportionment 
system in most of the synods, the Home Mission 
boards have a definite appropriation which they 

Lutheran Home Missions.. 11 



154 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

can depend upon. Usually the sum is far too 
small, but this is a decided advance over the old 
way. The problem now confronting most of the 
Home Mission boards is to arouse the Church so 
that there will be a liberal response to the needs. 
The liberality of the Church is not in proportion 
to the needs of the work. Many boards resort to 
other methods in order to increase their funds. 
Campaigns and itineraries are used to spread in- 
formation and swell the funds. These are good 
for the time being, but as permanent methods they 
will not do. The Home Mission board must be on 
a firm financial basis if it is to do the work which 
the Church has given it to do. It is the duty of 
every congregation to support the board liberally. 

Its Attitude towards Individual Missions. 

The relation between the board and the indi- 
vidual mission is important. There must be a 
perfect understanding between the two. Mutual 
fellowship and confidence are the secrets of suc- 
cess. The individual mission does not exist to be 
maintained by the board, nor does the board exist 
to lord its authority over the mission. The board 
exists for the purpose of helping the mission to 
become a i elf -sustaining congregation, and the 
mission must relieve the board of its support as 
soon as possible. In the past some mission 
boards have supported mission congregations for 
twenty or thirty years. Under ordinary circum- 
stances this should not be done. From the very 



HOME MISSION FORCES 155 

beginning the mission should look forward to 
the day when it shall become independent of the 
board, and the board should help the mission in 
that endeavor. 

It often happens that the support of the board 
is too meager, and instead of helping the mission 
it retards it. To give a mission only enough 
support to keep it alive is suicidal. Far better 
let the mission die an early death than to prolong 
its miserable existence. The wisest discretion is 
needed in dealing with the individual missions. 

Not infrequently the mission gets the impres- 
sion that the board is not aiding it as it should. 
This notion arises often, not because the board 
is not doing its part, but because the mission 
itself does not have the proper conception of the 
relation of the board to the work. Mission con- 
gregations, like young people, often misinterpret 
and misunderstand the actions of their superiors. 
It takes wisdom, patience, and determination on 
the part of the board to take and maintain the 
proper attitude towards a particular mission field. 

One difficulty that has to be contended with is 
the zeal of missionary pastors. Overzealous mis- 
sionaries are apt to magnify the importance of 
the particular field in which they labor. The mis- 
sionary on the field feels the importance and 
strain of the work and he appeals to the board 
for many things, and when they are not forth- 
coming, he concludes that the board is not taking 
the proper interest in the mission. He forgets 



156 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

that all the other missionary pastors have that 
same idea and are making the same appeals. The 
missionary and the mission must exercise common 
sense and patience as well as the board. When 
all concerned do their part, then the work ad- 
vances. 

The General Superintendent. 

The board must have some person to carry out 
its plans. Very few boards are so organized that 
the members themselves can carry out its designs 
and plans. There must be some one whose duty 
it is to see that the work is done. This man is 
usually called "The Superintendent of Home Mis- 
sions" or "The General Secretary of Home Mis- 
sions" or some other appropriate name. It is a 
position of great importance. Upon him more 
than upon any other individual depends the suc- 
cess or failure of the Home Mission work of the 
Church. His enthusiasm, wisdom, and discretion 
are in evidence throughout the whole Home Mis- 
sion field. Who is sufficient for such a task? A 
few characteristics of such a man will not be out 
of place. 

He must Have a Deep Love for his Church, 

He must be a man with a deep love for his 
Church. "Without this he cannot carry on the 
work. If he reasons that it makes little difference 
who gets our destitute brethren from Europe and 
from the home churches, only so some denomina- 



HOME MISSION FORCES 157 

tion picks them up, the results of his labors will 
be meager. Loving his Church because it teaches 
the very truth of God more plainly than any other, 
and worships Him according to Scriptural meth- 
ods, he will toil with ease, because his heart is 
alive to the importance of the cause. Nothing 
short of a deep love for the Lutheran Church will 
suffice in a general superintendent. We are not 
pleading for a fanatical enthusiasm in our super- 
intendent, but we do believe that he should feel 
that his Church has a mission which no other 
Church can perform. He should be convinced 
that if his Church does not do the work, then it 
will remain undone. That the Lutheran Church 
has a large work to do in this country cannot be 
denied. If this Church does not do its Home 
Mission work, then there will be thousands of 
souls lost. Realizing this and being moved with 
a deep love of the Church, our superintendent 
goes into the work with faith and courage. De- 
termined to win, by the help of God he will win. 

He must Have a Broad Vision. 

The man directing the Home Mission work of 
the Church must be a man with a broad vision. 
No shortsighted partisan can properly direct this 
work. He must be able to stand on the mountain 
top and view the whole land and see it in relation 
to the Home Mission work. The needs of the city, 
the needs of the country, the needs of the mining 
districts, and the needs of the frontier must be 



158 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

given the consideration due them. He must be 
able to see the strategic points. Our population 
is forever shifting. The village of to-day is the 
city of to-morrow. The superintendent must be 
able to see the strategic points and direct the 
Church's efforts to them before it is too late. 

One weakness of our Lutheran Home Mission 
work has been that we have not taken possession 
of the strategic places in time. A universally sad 
wail all over the West is that our Church has come 
twenty years too late. This has been due to the 
fact that our leaders did not realize the importance 
of strategic points until other denominations had 
occupied the field. A superintendent worthy of 
the name must view the whole field. He must 
know the strategic points and he must plant the 
Church there before the opportunity is passed. 

While our superintendent must have vision, his 
vision must not be contorted. He must not lose 
the true perspective. He must be able to see the 
city in relation to the surrounding country and 
the village in relation to the community. The 
mining or lactory district must not be viewed 
simply as a mining or factory district, but in 
relation to the influence it will exert and the im- 
portance it will attain. The country district must 
not be seen simply in its local coloring, but in its 
relation to the surrounding villages and adjacent 
cities. A general superintendent needs prophetic 
sight to enable him to properly plan and develop 
the work. 



HOME MISSION FORCES 159 

He must be Capable of Inspiring Enthusiasm. 

No one but an enthusiast can direct Home Mis- 
sion work. There is an inspiration in beginning 
missions, but that inspiration soon vanishes. Fu- 
ture plans are always inspiring, but plans not 
fulfilled and expectations not realized are not in- 
spiring. Very few mission congregations develop 
as was expected. 

With the passing of the enthusiasm of the first 
beginnings comes a discouragement which clouds 
alike the mission and the missionary. When this 
crisis is reached the superintendent must come 
to the rescue. He must have the ability to inspire 
enthusiasm in the discouraged missionary and the 
dwindling mission. If he fails at this point he 
fails as a mission superintendent. This ability 
to inspire enthusiasm and to awaken confidence 
is a rare gift, and that Church which has a super- 
intendent capable of doing this has a valuable 
man. Many a mission congregation is flourishing 
to-day because the superintendent inspired it with 
confidence in a critical moment of its existence. 

He must be Conversant with the Needs of 
the Worn. 

In Home Mission work, as in business, the man 
who has worked his way from the bottom up is 
the man who makes the best director. Such a 
man is thoroughly conversant with the details of 
the work and understands the needs. We believe 
that one of the weaknesses of our Home Mission 



160 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

work has been that our superintendents have been 
chosen not from those who have labored on the 
field as missionary pastors, but from among those 
who have labored in established congregations. An 
actual knowledge of the needs of the field can only 
come from living contact with the field such as 
the missionary gets. There is no knowledge like 
that gained first hand, and the superintendent 
of Home Missions needs a double portion of this 
kind of knowledge. 

To be thoroughly conversant with the needs of 
the field the superintendent must travel much. He 
should visit the whole field, not once, but frequent- 
ly. He should know every individual point thor- 
oughly, and that knowledge should have been 
gained by a visit to the field. 

The superintendent must be familiar with the 
immigration problem and with the emigration of 
the people at home. The opening of new territory 
and the establishing of new enterprises in a very 
short time cause changes of population which are 
significant from the Home Mission standpoint. A 
superintendent worthy of the office must keep 
abreast of these constant changes and must be 
ready to plant the Church in such localities. 

He must be Capable of Directing the Missionaries. 

A superintendent must have executive ability. 
The missionary pastors look to him for advice 
and direction. When they appeal to him they do 
not want "sibylline oracles", but practical advice. 



HOME MISSION FORCES 161 

Many an otherwise efficient superintendent 
wrecks his career of usefulness on this rock. He 
is not capable of directing the missionary pastors. 
It often happens that instead of having their 
respect and confidence he has gained their ill-will. 
Such a condition is deplorable in the extreme. 
There is too much at stake to permit the work to 
be retarded on this account. The ability to direct 
men is a rare one. This is particularly true in 
the Lutheran Church. It seems that individualism 
has run riot with us. We have no one in our 
church organization with more than advisory 
authority, and it is exceedingly difficult to super- 
vise the missionary pastors so that they will not 
take offense and rebel at the idea of interference. 
If there is any place in the Church where there 
ought to be authority it is in the Home Mission 
work, but here the authority is not much more 
than advisory. To direct the missionary pastors 
with no more authority is a task from which 
many would shrink, but this is the duty of the 
superintendent. 

He must Not be Easily Discouraged. 

A man who is inclined to look on the dark 
side of things will make a failure as a missionary 
superintendent. There is no place in the Church 
where more obstacles are met. The contingencies 
are so great that it takes a man with wonderful 
faith and courage to carry on the work without 
becoming discouraged. But the superintendent 



162 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

dare not become discouraged, for if he does it 
paralyzes the whole mission work. Nothing is 
so contagious as discouragemer t. It is bad enough 
when the missionary pastor becomes discouraged, 
but it is unpardonable in the directing head of the 
whole mission force. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Home Mission Forces, Continued. 

The Missionary Pastor and the Church Ex- 
tension Society. 

The Missionary Pastor. 

After all, the success or failure of the Home 
Mission work lies with the missionary pastor. 
The board and the superintendent cannot make a 
success out of a mission congregation unless that 
mission has a good pastor. In the last analysis 
the burden rests upon him. The board may aid 
and the superintendent may advise, but he must 
carry the work to a successful finish. A good 
missionary pastor will lead a mission congrega- 
tion to success with little aid from a board and 
little supervision from the superintendent, while 
a poor missionary pastor will make a failure with 
liberal aid from the board and much advice from 
the superintendent. The hinge upon which the 
mission congregation turns is the missionary pas- 
tor. 

One weakness in our mission work has been 



164 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

this, that the Church has neglected to train mis- 
sionary pastors and consequently has sent into 
the field only those who could not secure places 
elsewhere. Some one has said: "The one great 
weakness in the Church's mission work has been 
to send into the most important mission fields 
often men least fitted for the work. Hardly any 
other course was left open. The prosperous, well- 
established congregations had the first choice. 
They took the ripest and best men. What was 
left went to the missions. Fields that required 
most skill and best leadership were left to students 
fresh from the seminary, and often students who 
could find no opening elsewhere. To take hold of 
a mission was considered a confession of incom- 
petency to take hold of something better. But 
times are changing. The hero is now coming to 
be the man who has the courage to say nay to 
the big congregation and who measures his duty 
by the importance of the work to be done — not 
by the ease and comfort he may extract from it. 
It so happens that the man who builds up a church 
from the beginning is the man who is most in de- 
mand. And yet he is the man to whom the Church 
has thus far shown little gratitude. Starvation 
salaries have been doled out to him, and his work 
has thus been cheapened and degraded in the sight 
of men. But so essential to the growth of the 
Church has his work become that the importance 
of it is being felt as never before. Not cheap 
men, but expensive men — men of gifts and ex- 



HOME MISSION FORCES 165 

perience — should be placed into our important 
fields." 

The missionary pastor having such an import- 
ant work to do, it will be well for us to enumerate 
briefly some of the characteristics which go to 
make a successful Home Missionary. 

He must be a Man of Earnest Piety. 

Earnest piety should characterize every one 
who preaches the Gospel, but especially the Home 
Missionary. He must be a man who himself is 
led of God. He must be a man who has bowed 
before God and unreservedly placed himself in 
His hands for whatever joy, sorrow, success and 
service He might see fit to give. One who has had 
experience suggests that every Home Missionary 
ought to make a pledge to himself something like 
this: "I give myself to Thee, God, body, soul, 
and spirit, in the dark or in light, in life or in 
death, to be Thine only, wholly, and forever. 
Make the most of me that can be made for Thy 
glory. ,, Unless one has consecrated himself to 
God he will be poorly equipped for the trials of a 
Home Missionary. Nothing short of an earnest 
piety will do for the man who is to go forth and 
gather up the scattered sheep of the household of 
faith, build them up in the faith, organize them 
into a congregation and bring that congregation 
to self-sustentation. 



166 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

He must have Practical Common Sense. 

There is no place in the Church where the grace 
of practical common sense is needed so much as 
on the Home Mission field. The brilliant young 
man is not always the one who can make a success 
in Home Mission work. Says one writer: "Not 
only should the missionary carefully study the 
situation, his surroundings, and make himself 
thoroughly familiar with the different portions of 
the Church represented on the territory, but he 
should know how to act so as not to give offense, 
so that, if he can not have the cooperation of all, 
he does not incur their hostility and open opposi- 
tion. Here, if anywhere, it is necessary to possess 
the wisdom of the serpent and the harmlessness of 
the dove. Care must be taken to respect the dis- 
cipline of the Lutheran congregations of the sev- 
eral nationalities and to avoid all looseness in 
practice which would tend to alienate them and 
provoke their opposition. ,, 

The Home Missionary must also show his com- 
mon sense in dealing with the men whom he gets 
interested in the work. These men will come from 
varied walks in life, and from different church 
training, and to weld them together in Christian 
fellowship requires sanctified common sense. 

Preconceived notions of mission work and too 
great an admiration for self are not compatible 
with practical sense in the Home Missionary. 
Every mission is like a child, it has an individu- 



HOME MISSION FORCES 167 

ality all its own, and that individuality cannot be 
destroyed without harming the mission. The mis- 
sionary must know this individuality and he must 
develop it in the right way. 

Too many of our missionaries try to force con- 
ditions. It is absolutely impossible to change ex- 
isting conditions in a hurry. He must take con- 
ditions as they are and work along lines of least 
resistance instead of along the lines of most re- 
sistance, as too many enthusiastic missionary pas- 
tors are wont to do. Many a promising mission 
has been crippled by an overzealous missionary 
trying to force conditions and thus bringing about 
rebellion on the part of the members of the flock. 
To antagonize existing institutions and to ridicule 
individuals or customs is the sheerest folly. It 
takes a large share of common sense to be a suc- 
cessful Home Missionary. 

He must have Zeal for the Work. 

No one who has chosen the ministry for a living, 
or who looks upon it only as an honorable profes- 
sion which gives position in society, can be a suc- 
cessful Home Missionary. Whatever other quali- 
fications he may have, if he is not possessed with 
a burning zeal for the work he will be a failure. 
It is not brilliant oratory, nor the ability to shine 
before the people, that gives success on the mis- 
sion field. Love for Christ and a passion for souls 
must be the prime motive in the heart of the mis- 
sionary. A burning zeal to advance the kingdom 



168 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

of God must move the missionary if he is to be 
used of God. He who goes into the work because 
of the novelty of laboring in a new field and the 
poetry of mission work will soon find the novelty 
worn away and that there is more stern prose 
than was imagined. But when love for souls and 
the earnest desire to aid in the upbuilding of 
Christ's Church is the incentive, then the work 
will be delightful. Then will he be working for 
the Master, and he will not be easily discouraged, 
for he works not for self, but for God. 

He must Possess the Spirit of Self-denial. 

The spirit of self-denial is very necessary to 
the Home Missionary. There may be considerable 
honor and respect shown to the pastor of a large 
established congregation on account of his office, 
but this will not be shown to the missionary on 
the field. He must be a man among men, often 
working under the most discouraging circum- 
stances. The man who is unwilling to endure 
hardships, privations, and disappointments will 
be a failure as a Home Missionary. Dr. G. H. 
Trabert aptly says: "The spirit of self-denial is 
another qualification necessary for the Home Mis- 
sionary. Whilst Christ demands of every Chris- 
tian to deny himself and take up his cross, in 
no department of church work is self-denial more 
demanded than on the mission field. There is 
often no church in which to hold services and no 
congregation, besides the missionary may be 



HOME MISSION FORCES 169 

looked upon with suspicion by those of another 
synod, since he comes a stranger among strangers. 
He perhaps begins services in a poorly located 
hall, for which an exorbitant rent is demanded; 
or if the use of a church building can be had it 
is at an unseasonable hour, and instead of an 
audience of a hundred or more, there may be half 
a dozen to begin with. This is not very encour- 
aging to one who has an exalted opinion of himself 
and his drawing qualities, but it must be borne 
in mind that it is missionary work, and to gather 
a congregation in a new field is not the work 
of a day or even a year. . . . The work can only 
be established by means of persistent, self-denying 
effort." The smallness of the beginnings, the 
many discouragements and disappointments, the 
lack of personal associates, the loss of opportuni- 
ties for personal improvement, and the lack of 
appreciation on the part of the people in the mis- 
sion and of the Church at large are all things 
which demand the highest spirit of self-denial on 
the part of the missionary. The man who cannot 
endure the severest self-denial is not the man to 
engage in Home Mission work. 

He must be Uncompromising in the Faith. 

It takes a man with a firm conviction to be a 
Home Missionary. A doubter, or a sceptic, has no 
business on the mission field. The strongest faith 
will be tested to the uttermost. We quote Dr. 
Trabert: "The Home Missionary must be uncom- 

Lutheran Home Missions. 12 



170 HOME MISSION FORCES 

promising in the faith. No one who apologizes 
for his being a Lutheran, or who is tainted with 
so-called liberalism, or who compromises his faith 
by unionistic practices which seem to nullify the 
distinctive doctrines of our Church, is fitted for 
the mission field. In the first place, such a one 
could not command the respect of the German and 
Scandinavian pastors and congregations; second- 
ly, he would be faithless to his trust as a Lutheran 
and appear to be ashamed of her pure doctrine, 
by which he would lose the respect of the denomi- 
nations who might use him as a tool to further 
their own ends ; and in the third place, no Church 
will succeed that is not aggressive and does not 
firmly hold to its distinctive principles without 
compromise, whatever others may say. The most 
uncompromising Lutheran, if he is a sincere and 
honorable Christian, will be far more respected 
by truly honest Christians of other denominations 
around us than one who is indifferent to the dis- 
tinctive doctrines he professes to believe, and does 
that in practice by which they are apparently 
ignored." 

The compromising missionary pastor has no 
mission. If he has nothing definite to preach and 
teach, then he has no work to do. The very fact 
that our Church has a doctrine and practice dis- 
tinct from that of the other Protestant Churches 
gives it its Home Mission call in this land. If the 
missionary pastor is not convinced that he has 
something to offer to those who are not in connec- 



HOME MISSION FOKCES 171 

tion with any Church, then the thing for him to 
do is to join in with whatever Church may be on 
the field and help it in its endeavors. A staunch 
Lutheran faith and consciousness is a necessary 
requisite to the missionary pastor. 

He must Possess the Grace of Patience. 

There are so many things to try the patience 
of the missionary pastor. The work does not 
progress as rapidly as was anticipated. Some of 
the members of the mission are not as faithful 
and earnest as would be desired, and do not take 
hold of the work as they should. Again, it will 
devolve upon the missionary to be everything, 
even being obliged to do the work of a janitor. 
He will have to gather the children for the Sun- 
day-school and then secure teachers for them. He 
will have to hunt the people who are to become 
members of his future church and train and de- 
velop them. It is exceedingly difficult to find those 
upon whom he can place responsibility. Again 
and again he will be disappointed. These and 
many other things will make the work irksome 
and try his patience. But the earnest, sincere 
missionary will not be discouraged. He looks 
ahead. He has faith. He patiently endures the 
many trials incident to his work. He has God's 
assurance that success will come. He labors on, 
knowing that in His own good time God will bless 
the work. His trust is in God and he waits in 
patience. 



172 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

He must be Adapted to the Work and the Field. 

From what has already been said it can be seen 
that the Home Missionary must be a specially 
endowed man. Not every one is adapted for work 
on the home field. The Church has been too slow 
in learning this truth. Instead of placing the 
strongest men on the home mission fields, too 
often the weakest men have been placed there. 
The day of specialists has come, and the Church 
must learn to take men specially adapted and train 
them for the Home Mission work. Experience 
has taught us that not every good pastor will make 
a good Home Missionary. Well does The Home 
Missionary say: "The time will soon come when 
in mission work as in all our professions and oc- 
cupations we will be compelled to have specialists. 
Not only specialists as Home Missionary Super- 
intendents and Church Extension agents, but 
specialists who know how to gather people and 
organize them into churches ; specialists who know 
how to gather funds, specialists who know how 
to spend them in the erection of mission churches, 
and these can be followed by the men who are to 
be the permanent pastors. ,, 

Experience shows that some men will make 
brilliant success in certain fields and utterly fail 
in others. There is such a thing as a man being 
adapted to a certain field or certain kind of Home 
Mission work. The proper man and the proper 
field must be brought together. In the past too 



HOME MISSION FORCES 173 

much money and time have been wasted simply 
because no attention was paid to this fact. When 
the missionary pastor is adapted to the field, and 
the people rally to his support, the success will 
follow. Adaptability is a necessary characteristic 
of the successful Home Missionary. 

The Church Extension Society. 

When a mission is just started, its most urgent 
need is a place of worship of its own. Every one 
knows what a drawback to the success of such a 
movement it is to be compelled to worship in a 
rented hall for any length of time. In the early 
days it was not so very difficult for a mission 
congregation to secure a church building. Usually 
one man would donate a piece of ground, others 
would donate trees, and they would all join to- 
gether, take the logs to the sawmill and have 
them cut into lumber, and with their own hands 
they would erect a church building. That was an 
easy way of getting a church, but those days have 
passed. It is now absolutely impossible for the 
members of the average mission congregation to 
donate material and labor for the erection of a 
church building. Nor is it possible for them to 
give enough money to build a church. This being 
the case, the Church has to provide other ways by 
which mission congregations may be helped to 
acquire a church home for themselves. This has 
been done by organizing Church Extension So- 
cieties. Such societies endeavor to aid mission 



174 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

churches in their effort to build for themselves 
places of worship. These societies have been very 
successful and are important forces in our Home 
Mission work. 

Its Object. 

The object and aim of a church extension so- 
ciety is to aid mission congregations in securing 
church homes for themselves. We quote from the 
constitution of one such society. The object of 
this society shall be "to secure and safely manage 
a permanent church extension fund, and hold same 
in trust, to assist missions and other needy church- 
es in the securement of grounds for the building 
of church edifices and the erection thereon of 
churches or chapels for the use of congregations 
in the public worship of Almighty God, in ac- 
cordance with the faith and usages of the Evan- 
gelical Lutheran Church, and for the securement 
of grounds for the building of institutions of 
learning, charity, or benovelence." Speaking of 
the object of the Church Extension Society, Mr. 
E. Aug. Miller says: "The purpose of the Church 
Extension Society is to give aid to newly estab- 
lished congregations who are not able to buy a 
lot and build a church at once. It does away, to 
a great extent, with the necessity of a newly 
established congregation worshiping in a hall or 
over a stable, or in dancing halls . . . The Church 
Extension Society loans a sufficient amount of 
money without interest for a period of years, and 



HOME MISSION FORCES 175 

says, 'Go ahead, and build a church which will be a 
credit to the neighborhood.' " Dr. Samuel Laird, 
for many years president of a Church Extension 
Society, writes in The Lutheran: " Among the 
various agencies employed in our Church for the 
advancement of the cause of Christ none is more 
valuable than the Lutheran Mission and Church 
Extension Society. It occupies a preeminent posi- 
tion among all our church works. It has not yet 
commanded that consideration which its merits 
deserve. . . . The object of this Society is to aid 
in the establishment of English Lutheran church- 
es. It would not be possible to do a more blessed 
work in the world than to establish a Christian 
church. All the purposes our Lord had in view 
in founding His Church on earth are accomplished 
by it. The Word of God is there preached and 
the Sacraments are administered in accordance 
with that Word, and these are the divinely ap- 
pointed means of grace for the salvation of men. 
What can any one do that is of greater advantage 
to the human race, or more in accordance with 
the mind of Christ, than to aid in the upbuilding 
of such an organization as this. 

"Moreover, it is the Christian Church that or- 
iginates and carries on all charitable, merciful and 
true educational movements. If we have churches 
we will as a natural consequence have missions 
at home and abroad, hospitals for the sick, asylums 
for the aged, homes for the orphans, and constant 
efforts are made for the uplifting of the fallen, 



176 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

the unfortunate and depraved through ministra- 
tions to the body as well as to the soul. Where 
the Christian Church is found all of these inter- 
ests will be promoted, but take away the Church, 
and into what state will society revert?. . . Is it 
not true, therefore, that the Lutheran Mission 
and Church Extension Society, inasmuch as its 
purpose is to establish churches, becomes one of 
the most valuable organizations among us for the 
advancement of the cause of Christ?" 

In fact our whole Home Mission propaganda 
is dependent for its success upon the Church Ex- 
tension Society. The Home Mission board may 
organize mission congregations, but unless they 
soon have church buildings of their own they 
amount to but little. The problem with most mis- 
sion congregations is the problem of a church 
building, and this problem the Church Extension 
Society must help solve. It is now perfectly un- 
derstood that no mission is safely planted until it 
has a church building of its own. When our 
Church Extension societies have more funds, then 
our Home Mission work will move forward more 
rapidly. 

Its Method of Operation, 

Up to the present time no Lutheran Church 
Extension Society that we know of has a regular 
income. They are all entirely dependent upon the 
gifts and free-will offerings of the people. In 
this respect our Extension Societies are behind 



HOME MISSION FOKCES 177 

the times. This is one of the most important 
forces in our Home Mission work and should have 
a regular income. It is just as important to build 
churches for new missions as it is to start the 
mission itself. We hope the day is not far distant 
when the Church will make arrangements so this 
branch of the Home Mission work will have the 
financial support that it deserves. 

When a Church Extension Society accumulates 
a fund it does not give its money away, but loans 
it to feeble congregations just starting into life, 
to enable them to secure a house of worship where 
they may meet for service. The advantage to 
these congregations is that they have a loan for 
a term of years without interest. In the course 
of time the loan is paid back and is sent out in 
some other direction on its mission of love. In 
this way church after church is helped with the 
same funds. There is no part of our church work 
that is more important and more businesslike. 
Dr. J. M. Francis says : "It may not be too much 
to say that no work for Lutheranism appeals more 
to the business man and has been more popular 
than that of Church Extension. It has been a 
large factor in making our work in this country 
permanent." 

What some of the other Protestant denomina- 
tions have been doing along this lines of Church 
Extension will be of interest. In The Lutheran 
of 1909 we find the following interesting figures : 

"To show that we are just approaching the 



178 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

dawn of this new and greater day in mission ac- 
tivity, we have, through the courtesy of represen- 
tatives, secured figures from societies in the Pres- 
byterian, the Congregational, and the Protestant 
Episcopal Churches. In the Presbyterian Church, 
church extension dates back to 1844. During 
these years help has been extended (in the form 
of gifts, loans without interest, and loans with 
interest) to 8,106 churches with a total outlay of 
$5,221,172. Last year 261 churches were aided 
and the handsome sum of $233,613 placed at their 
disposal. As nearly $2,000,000 has been in the 
form of gifts, there is left in invested funds and 
in church properties, $3,396,000 of the $5,221,172 
raised during these years. To show what this 
huge fund has accomplished in every section of 
the country, only a few States need be selected. 
In Wisconsin, 256 churches have been aided in 
gifts and loans amounting to $165,000 (the pres- 
ent size of our Church Extension Society's fund) ; 
in Minnesota, 439 churches with $297,227 aid ; in 
the Dakotas, 402 churches with $233,725 aid; in 
Washington and Oregon, 375 churches with $233,- 
536 aid. 

The history of the Congregational Society is 
still more remarkable. It dates back to 1853 
and has raised $5,943,463 and extended aid to 
erect 3,988 churches and 1,054 parsonages. Last 
year its income was $248,152, and it helped to 
erect 101 churches and 26 parsonages. The growth 
of its fund has been remarkable within the last 



HOME MISSION FORCES 179 

decade, and after deducting the gifts, it has assets 
left to the amount of $3,418,693. 

The Episcopal Church started much later — in 
1880— but its fund is already $458,065.38. In 
1907, it granted $27,660 in loans to ten churches 
and $10,250 in gifts to thirty-five churches. Its 
society is not as old as ours of the General Council, 
but it has the advantage of a larger and richer 
English constituency. 

These figures tell their own story. They point 
the finger at us and command us to awake out of 
sleep and be up and doing. There is not a field 
in either of the three named churches as rich and 
hopeful as ours; but it goes without saying that 
unless we become far more rich in good works 
than we have been, they will continue to cultivate 
much of the field which our inactivity has allowed 
to become overgrown with weeds." 



$#> 



CHAPTER X. 

Methods of Carrying on Home Mission 

Work. 

From the middle of the eighteenth century- 
there were Lutherans scattered from Maine to 
Georgia. A few had brought with them their 
own pastors and soon organized congregations, 
but the great majority were without spiritual 
guides. From this time down to the closing of 
the nineteenth century our Church has many 
neglected children to mourn over. So many had 
come across the sea without religious teachers, 
and there were no mission boards to help them. 
No charitable institutions in the Fatherland were 
interested in their welfare. But on they came 
and that at a time when Germany was in one of 
the gloomiest periods of its history. Thus our 
people came to America when we were least able 
to take care of them. However, the Church soon 
began to grapple with the problem and heroic 
efforts were put forth to bring these destitute 
ones the Gospel message. 



METHODS OF CARRYING ON HOME MISSION WORK 181 

The Itinerate System. 

The earliest form of Lutheran Home Missions 
in this country was the itinerate system. Lu- 
theran pastors were sent over here from Ger- 
many and Scandinavia commissioned by some 
part of the Church at home and authorized to 
missionate among the incoming immigrants for 
the express purpose of establishing a German or 
Scandinavian Church. This would not have been 
a bad system had it not been used by unscrupulous 
venturers from the old country. When some man 
in the old country came under the eye of the law 
it was nothing uncommon for him to get a sud- 
den impulse to missionate in America. The pages 
of our early history are full of sad depredations 
committed by such men in the name of Home Mis- 
sions. Some of the greatest difficulties Muhlen- 
berg had to contend with when he arrived, was 
to deal with this class of pastors. But this class 
was in the minority, or the Church never would 
have been established. 

There were good and honest men who took up 
the work of Lutheran Home Missions and carried 
it forward. This itinerate system prevailed in 
the East and South as late as 1860, and in the 
West to a still later period. 

In the South we find the Henkels going out on 
this kind of work and coming as far as Indiana 
and Illinois. Speaking of the work of Rev. Paul 
Henkel, Rev. M. L. Wagner says: "No more ac- 



182 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

tive, indefatigable and self-denying missionary 
than Paul Henkel ever labored in this country . . . 
Without any authorization from Mission Boards, 
or assurance of support save the Master's com- 
mand, 'Go preach the Gospel', and the promise, 
'Lo, I am with you alway', he went forth in 
obedience to that command and in firm reliance 
upon that promise, and entered upon his labors 
unmoved and undismayed by the darkest pros- 
pects. Tennessee, Virginia, North and South 
Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and West Vir- 
ginia were the fields of his operations. In some 
of these tours he was accompanied by his noble 
and heroic wife, who was animated by a like 
missionary spirit. In a two-wheeled wagon they 
traveled. Their journeys were not without dan- 
gers. In peril of waters, crossing swollen streams, 
in perils of land, often compelled to spend the 
night in the forests abounding with panther, bear, 
and wolves, they passed their time that the Gospel 
might be preached unto the destitute .... In his 
journey ings he often came upon gatherings of 
people such as 'log-rollings', 'home- or barn-rais- 
ings', 'corn-huskings' and the like. On such oc- 
casions he would announce his office and offer to 
preach. The offer as a rule was gladly accepted. 
The people would seat themselves upon logs, 
stumps, or on the ground, while a stump or 'log- 
cut' set on end served as a pulpit. Under these 
conditions and in these improvised sanctuaries 
he would deliver his sermon in the language pre- 



METHODS OF CARRYING ON HOME MISSION WORK 183 

ferred, German or English, or possibly a sermon 
in each. If time permitted he would tarry a few 
days, visit from house to house, baptize the chil- 
dren, and comfort the sick and sorrowing. His 
kindly acts and genuine Christian sympathy won 
the hearts of all, and the partings were often amid 
sobs and tears. Thus the settlements were visited 
and the desolate made to rejoice in the treasuries 
of grace." 

It is well known that Father Heyer in his 
earlier life served as a Home Missionary in Wes- 
tern Pennsylvania, and in later years pushed as 
far west as Minnesota. Father Heyer has left us 
some descriptions of his travels as an itinerate 
missionary. Here is one of his experiences in 
the early days: "One day I had to ride thirty 
miles before I came to a house. This was on a 
new road then recently laid out by the State, and 
only lately opened in Chesterfield county. In the 
evening I reached a hut, built of round logs, where 
three bachelor brothers had put up their home 
removed from the world. But it soon appeared 
that singing and praying was not their main oc- 
cupation. Like Nimrod they were mighty hunters 
before the Lord. All travelers passing that way 
had to stay with these hunters, or spend the night 
under the open sky in the pine forest. When I 
arrived in the evening five travelers had already 
arrived, eaten their supper, and left not even a 
piece of bread. At this time, when I was on my 
first missionary journey in 1817, there was no 



184 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

longer any danger to fear from hostile Indians 
in Pennsylvania. This I knew well. Still I was 
not quite comfortable when I altogether unex- 
pectedly met a number of these inhabitants of the 
forest near the Allegheny River. A part of the 
tribe, known as the Corn-planters, had been in 
the neighborhood for several weeks hunting and 
fishing." 

We also read of a whole synod taking up this 
itinerate system, all its pastors riding the circuit 
after the fashion of the early Methodists. This 
system with all its faults bore much fruit, but it 
was not the final form of Lutheran Home Missions 
for America. However, we must not depreciate 
the labors of these early men. They were pioneers 
in Home Mission work and blazed the way for 
the Church. Without their labors the Churcji 
could not have been built up in later years. These 
men sowed the seed, others reaped the harvest. 
Speaking of these early pioneer Home Missio- 
naries in Pennsylvania, Rev. Frank C. Oberly 
says : ' 'Living in the center of the community to 
whose congregations he was first called, each pas- 
tor ministered to the needs of German families 
or smaller settlements lying many miles beyond 
the circumference of his original parish. Often 
he traveled over paths newly blazed, fording 
streams in the heat of a sultry noon, or in the 
biting cold of a midwinter morning. Now his 
long journey led him to a funeral, now to a 
wedding or a baptism. Wherever he went he 



METHODS OF CARRYING ON HOME MISSION WORK 185 

felt a call to preach the Word of God, in house, 
in barn, or in groves. His visits and ministra- 
tions were most welcome to every cluster of Ger- 
man settlers, and he could not retrace his steps 
without a distinct promise to make regular pro- 
vision for their spiritual needs. Thus journeying 
forth from his immediate parish he widened the 
circle of his ministry, baptizing, confirming, 

preaching, and forming congregations The 

pioneer missionary who cast his lot with the mot- 
ley band of immigrants that crossed the Alle- 
ghanies to found homes in the untenanted forests 
and on the trackless prairie, bore only a very 
general likeness to his brother clergyman. No 
one was more justly entitled to be called a min- 
ister of the Gospel than he. But in so many 
respects was he unlike his brethren in the older 
Eastern communities that he formed a distinctive 
type of clergyman. His mental habits, the round 
of his daily experiences, the unique and varied 
character of his professional activity, the peculiar 
hardships befalling him, his isolation and inde- 
pendence, and his original methods of work com- 
bined to separate him into a special class of 
preachers that has become extinct with the pas- 
sing of the forest and the rapid population of our 
domain. ,, Theodore Roosevelt says: "The whole 
West owes an immense debt to the hard working 
frontier preachers who so gladly gave their lives 
to their labors and who struggled with such fiery 
zeal for the moral well-being of the communities 

Lutheran Home Missions. 13 



186 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

to which they penetrated.' ' Mr. Ward Piatt in 
"The Frontier" has characterized the early Home 
Missionary in these words: "But what of those 
souls who endured again and again all the priva- 
tions of primitive travel, and over and over again 
compassed the same frontier : always homeless, al- 
ways seeking those more needy than themselves ; 
without adequate subsistance, enduring exposure, 
exertions, and discomforts unknown to older com- 
munities? Going where they were not invited, 
often not wanted, they contended for the privilege 
of being benefactors. One could not hide from 
them nor move to a wilderness so remote that 
the missionary did not, as a matter of course, 
appear. His was a passion born of heaven. . . . 
Wherever the early settlers went the missionary 
followed. He was a formative factor. The an- 
nals of these men show what godless communities 
they invaded; how people who had once known 
better things had retrograded; how the Sabbath, 
in fact the entire decalogue, was virtually abro- 
gated. Yet patiently, with a persistency more 
than human and with a wisdom and power direct 
from God, these men radiated influences and 
were the sources of currents that shaped com- 
munities and built up states. They could no more 
be resisted than the forces of nature. Nature is 
an expression of God. His faithful servants are 
his organs of speech. Without the early preach- 
ers, frontiers would have lapsed into barbarism. 
Their evolution into orderly towns and law- 



METHODS OF CAKRYING ON HOME MISSION WORK 187 

abiding commonwealths, their progress in intel- 
lectual and moral life, their stability, and, in 
short, every element that to-day distinguishes 
them from utter paganism with all its poverty 
and hideousness, is as inseparable from the 
preacher as light from the sun. Whoever will 
know this may read for himself. He will be im- 
pressed more with the surprising history than its 
abundant testimony concerning our debt to the 
pioneer preacher. He was God's herald trumpet- 
ing his proclamation, and as truly was his in- 
strument which moulded our infant nation." 

The Parochial System. 

Another early form of Lutheran Home Mis- 
sions was the Parochial System. Here the initia- 
tive and authority was not vested in the individual 
man, but in the congregation. Congregations saw 
the need of Home Mission work, and they en- 
deavored to supply this need. This plan worked 
well in certain communities, and in the East we 
have grand fruits from this planting. It was the 
best that could be developed under the existing 
circumstances, and God blessed this method won- 
derfully. Sometimes a number of churches in a 
town or community banded together to carry on 
mission work in a certain neighborhood. Usually 
this kind of work was successful. We give an 
account of such work which speaks for itself : 

"What can be done with no extraordinary effort, 
is well illustrated in the missionary work at Roch- 



188 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

ester. In the Church of the Reformation, a mis- 
sion fund was started in the Sunday-school. It 
amounted to about $150. It was not much to be- 
gin a mission with. But it was sufficient to pur- 
chase the necessary outfit of Sunday-school books, 
Helpers, Lesson leaves, etc., and to furnish the 
room that had been rented for the new enterprise. 

"The starting of this mission took entire classes 
from the Sunday-school of the mother church, 
together with several of its most capable teachers. 
When the time came to organize, it drew fifty 
members from the parent congregation, two of 
them being members of the church council. But 
that church now has its own pastor, over one 
hundred communicants, a Sunday-school number- 
ing over 250 children, and church property worth 
$5,000. 

"Only a year after the first, the second mission 
was projected. It now has an enrollment of 150 
in the Sunday-school, will organize with 50 mem- 
bers under its own pastor, and is preparing to 
build a chapel. This mission also took a dozen 
members from the old church. 

" 'There is that scattereth and yet increaseth.' 
How is it in this case? WelJ, there are now in 
attendance upon the three English Lutheran Sun- 
day-schools, 650 scholars, as over against less 
than 200 in the one, two years ago. At Easter 
three classes were confirmed, aggregating seventy- 
five persons, instead of one class of possibly 
twenty-five as in former years. Where $1,000 



METHODS OP CARRYING ON HOME MISSION WORK 189 

was paid out two years ago $3,000 is now ex- 
pended, besides about $2,000 towards lots and 
chapels. By multiplying the working force by 
three, the resources have been trebled, and that 
without any undue pressure or worry. 

"According to the pastor's own statement, this 
mission work has had a most blessed effect upon 
the mother church. Its membership is larger 
than ever. The Sunday-school has also gained, 
notwithstanding the 'blood letting,' and in energy, 
intelligent working ability and liberality the con- 
gregation is from twenty-five to fifty per cent, 
stronger than ever before." 

Commenting on this form of Home Missions a 
prominent man in the General Council said: 

"It is possible for pastors, serving regular 
charges, to do efficient work in the immediate 
vicinity of their fields of labor. 

"It is possible for pastors and people to do a 
great deal of such work with little cost to the 
mission treasuries of the Church. 

"It is possible with but little expense or em- 
barrassment to provide ample and suitable houses 
for public religious services in connection with 
such work. 

"Within the borders of every one of our synods 
there are such places by the score. Within fair 
reach of many an established charge there are 
points where effective work of like character can 
be done. If faithful to the trust which the Lord 
has laid upon the Church of the Reformation in 



190 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

this land, with ever increasing zeal and vigor this 
work must be done. More than ever before must 
pastors and people be awake to and heartily do 
this mission work at home. 

"And why? Within twenty-five years, with 
present causes at work, the population of the 
United States will be doubled. 

"Twenty-five years is no long period. Our 
young men now will still be young men when this 
mighty multitude of souls will be crying to the 
Church of the Living God for spiritual favors, 
the Word and the Sacraments. Twice as many 
preaching stations, chapels and churches; twice 
as many pastors and congregations as there now 
are must be provided, so that existing church 
privileges, meager as they are, may be secured for 
the people of this country twenty-five years hence. 

"Nor will this increased population be found 
only in the unsettled or sparely settled regions of 
the great West. In Pennsylvania and Ohio, in 
the Middle States, in the East, North and South 
also, right among us and all around us will it be 
found. Our thriving cities will become vastly 
more populous; our towns and villages will be 
larger; where none now exist new towns and 
villages will be established ; farms will be divided 
and sub-divided for the great increase of people 
who will make homes in the country. It requires 
no prophet's vision to see these things. 

"But all this means mission work at home, if it 
be the purpose of the Church to-day to do her full 



METHODS OF CAERYING ON HOME MISSION WORK 191 

duty towards the Church of the future. Her 
destiny, her growth and influence are almost en- 
tirely in the hands of the Church of to-day. It 
rests upon the men of to-day, thoughtful, far- 
seeing, sagacious men, be they pastors or laymen, 
who desire the future increase of the Church, to 
carefully look about them. They must wisely 
weigh possibilities of church development; look 
out to lay hold upon all points which may be the 
nuclei of towns and villages, and centers of new 
and increased population. Faith, forethought and 
action now will immeasurably widen the borders 
of the Church for the future. Mission work at 
home dare not be overlooked. 

"It usually rests with the pastor to make the 
beginning in such work. Faithful pastoral visits 
among the careless or neglected, occasional ser- 
mons, have been the humble germs of many a 
successful mission and church. As Joshua, the 
pastor must 'spy out the land/ report its tempting 
fulness, and thus and then arouse and encourage 
his people to go and possess the goodly heritage. 

"What openings for missionary work are there 
in our neighborhood? is a topic which pastors and 
church councils ought earnestly to consider at 
their stated meetings. Surrounding districts 
should be carefully canvassed, and upon the 
slightest possibility of future good to the Church, 
persistent and wise effort should be put forth to 
take possession of the land pro Gloria Dei et 
Ecclesiae. Congregations should be willing to 



192 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

make changes in the time and number of their 
services, if necessary, so that their pastor could 
have fuller opportunity to obey the marching or- 
ders of the Great Captain: 'go, preach.' The 
brethren should organize and take charge of Sun- 
day-schools, read sermons, attend services — do 
everything in their power, and with cheerfulness, 
too, that thus the Lord's work may be helped on- 
ward. No one can estmiate the good which faith- 
ful pastors, wide-awake councils and active con- 
gregations can do and have done by a few years 
of such home work. 

"Observe, too, that this work makes little drain 
upon the treasury of the church. It provides 
largely for itself from the contributions of those 
who do not regularly give in aid of ordinary 
church operations. It wonderfully arouses sleep- 
ing energies, interests new hearts and sets new 
hands at work. In thus going forth and bearing 
her blessings to others, the Church herself is 
blessed. 

"No great outlay is needed for a beginning. 
Secure first the best possible location. Be content 
with humble surroundings. Should you build, 
furnish only what is most necessary, and finish at 
your leisure. Pay as you go. Let there be no 
debts to dishearten or deter you from association 
in the enterprise, and soon the mission will be a 
fixed center of holy influence. 

"Every heart and every hand which faithfully 
works therein is doing Christ's work and will re- 



METHODS OF CARRYING ON HOME MISSION WORK 193 

ceive his blessing. Let not mission work at home 
be overlooked or neglected." 

The parochial form of Home Mission work al- 
most developed into a science. We give herewith 
a set of rules drawn up by a former Superin- 
tendent of Missions of the General Council : 

"It takes but little study to know where to start 
a Lutheran Mission. The material is abundant. 

Choose your point, then go ahead. Don't talk 
about it for months. You will only repeat the 
story of the ridiculus must 

Put it, from the start, on a distinctly churchly 
basis. No compromise to catch a few odd fish. 
Begin right and it will be easy to keep on the right 
track. 

Coming down to details : make a hasty canvass, 
name, date of opening, have a good, responsive 
service for the occasion, interspersed with a few 
brief addresses, and, as far as practicable, organ- 
ize on the first Sunday. 

Keep all money considerations in the back- 
ground. Give the people to understand that the 
starting of the mission will not cost them a cent, 
and see to it that the contract is not broken. From 
$100 to $200 will furnish the school with all nec- 
essary equipments— an amount which any organi- 
zation can easily gather up. After the people are 
once in it and their interests are centered there, 
they will bring contributions sufficient for its con- 
tinued support. 

Have the school thoroughly manned from the 



194 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

very first, a good superintendent, and a capable 
corps of teachers. By a previous arrangement, 
get the best teachers from the mother church to 
take charge of classes unprovided for, until such 
time as local teachers can be secured. 

Music is an essential feature. Have a willing 
organist, a good leader, and let some of the best 
singers of the present choir attend from time to 
time and aid in carrying out the services. 

Begin early to talk of a new chapel, its needs 
and advantages. Laugh at all idea of failure. Be 
confident of the gathering in of funds. Have 
faith! 

Choose central location. Buy lot on six months' 
time. Then start subscription. Plan chapel. Talk 
it up. Keep the ball rolling. Lay cornerstone as 
soon as possible, and gather in the people to the 
service from the four winds. 

Once started, the interest must not lag. Have 
something to say of plans and prospects at each 
meeting. Get into the new quarters as soon as 
possible, and make something out of the occasion. 

Unless there is a very rapid advance in real 
estate, let the lot and building be no more than 
adequate to the needs of the mission for five or 
ten years. Only as much should be paid on the 
property as will leave it, financially, in easy con- 
dition. It does a young church good to carry a 
debt of a thousand or two — gives them something 
to work for. 

Start a catechetical class as soon as practicable. 



METHODS OF CARRYING ON HOME MISSION WORK 195 

Work up a membership list and organize congre- 
gation. Put it on its feet and tell it to move on. 

Call a pastor as early as possible. Make it at 
once an independent congregation. Let them now 
develop their own money resources. The sooner 
they learn to support themselves, the better for 
all concerned. 

Let the mother church from first to last show 
a proper interest in the new enterprise. It will 
encourage it. We all feel better if we have good 
backing. 

If the town or city is large enough to sustain 
several missions, form a central organization, 
composed of the progressive members of the 
mother and daughter church. The two can join 
hands and work up a third point, the third, a 
fourth, and so on ad infinitum." 

While these rules would not be at all adequate 
to-day, they are very significant. They show that 
our leaders had to feel their way, that their day 
of vision had not come, that their missionary 
horizon had not broadened. They show that our 
leaders had small ideas and that their experience 
was not such as to warrant a plan commensurate 
with the work to be done and the dignity of the 
Church as a factor in the evangelization of our 
country. Our early men had no right conception 
of the place and influence of the Lutheran Home 
Mission work. That such a plan would succeed 
in certain localities no one doubts for a moment, 
but the Lutheran Church of America could never 



196 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

have been advanced in this way. Such a plan 
might have developed the East, but it never could 
have done the work for the West. 

The Synodical System. 

The next forward step in Home Missions was 
the synodical system. By this plan whole synods 
took up the work of planting and developing mis- 
sions. This plan was almost universally adopted 
in the Lutheran Church. Its success was so great 
that almost every synod used it, and it is the 
prevailing plan used to-day. A review of some 
of the larger Lutheran bodies will show to what 
extent and with what success the synodical system 
has been used. 

The General Council. 

The General Council used the synodical system 
almost universally until a few years ago. While 
it had a general board, still every synod in the 
Council carried on independent mission work of 
its own. The success of the synodical system has 
been the success of the General Council in Home 
Missions up to this time. 

Swedish Home Missions. 

The Swedish Home Mission work of the General 
Council is done exclusively by the Augustana 
Synod, as it alone constitutes the Swedish part 
of the Council. The whole history of this synod 
is one of Home Mission work. It began nearly 



METHODS OF CARRYING ON HOME MISSION WORK 197 

sixty years ago in the Mississippi Valley. Its 
field has since grown to embrace nearly the whole 
continent. Immigration from Sweden began in 
the middle forties and has continued ever since, 
until the Swedish immigrants and their descend- 
ants now number nearly two millions and a half. 
They all belong to the Lutheran Church by birth, 
training, and tradition. As the Augustana Synod 
is the only Swedish Lutheran body in America, 
it is its first great duty to minister to their spir- 
itual wants. The difficulty of the work is greatly 
increased by the fact that they are scattered 
throughout every state and territory of the Union, 
every province and district of Canada, and are 
found even in Mexico and the West Indies. To 
carry on this great work with greater vigor and 
success, the Synod is divided into conferences, 
each of which conducts the Home Mission work 
within its borders. 

The General Synod. 
After the organization of the General Synod in 
1820 active steps were taken to promote Home 
Mission operations. In 1833 this body, seeing the 
spiritual destitution which prevailed among the 
Lutheran people of this land, called upon its dis- 
trict synods to take steps to meet the needs. The 
synods took up the work and carried it on with 
more or less success until the Home Mission work 
was centralized under a general board in 1869. 
Since that time the work has been carried on by 



198 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

one board with excellent results. In unifying its 
Home Mission forces the General Synod has taken 
a step which puts it in the forefront in Home Mis- 
sion work in this country. For some years the 
General Council has been busy unifying its Eng- 
lish Home Mission work, and the results so far 
are very gratifying. No doubt other synods will 
follow this example in the near future. The time 
has come when the synodical system must give 
place to a larger and more effective system. The 
final victory will not be won until all the synods 
unify their Home Mission forces under one head. 

The Missouri Synod. 

The Missouri Synod has always devoted its 
principal energy to gathering into the Church 
the immigrant Germans, organizing many new 
congregations every year. The work of Home 
Missions is under control of the district synods, 
and only such funds as are not needed by each 
district are paid into the general fund. Great 
success has attended the efforts as is shown by 
the growth of this body. 

The Joint Synod of Ohio. 

The Home Mission work of this synod stretches 
over a wide territory. It is carried on chiefly 
among German immigrants in the West, although 
the English interests are not overlooked. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Beginning a Mission Congregation. 

Having made a study of general conditions, we 
now come to the practical work of beginning a 
mission congregation. Our theories about Home 
Missions must now be put to the test. The work 
must be done. How shall the missionary begin? 
What shall he do first? These are the questions 
that confront the worker on the field. 

Formerly the custom was, for the pastor in- 
terested, to select a community which he thought 
desirable, announce that he was on the field, ap- 
point a time and place for service, and wait for 
the people to come. Ofttimes this was a success, 
ofttimes it was a failure. It was an unsystema- 
tic way of beginning mission work. Success de- 
pended upon good luck as much as upon good 
judgment and hard work. If the missionary was 
fortunate in selecting a good field he was success- 
ful, if his field was unfavorable his work was a 
failure. Often much money, labor, and time were 
expended before it was discovered that the work 
had been wrongly located. The day for such 



200 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

"hit or miss" methods is passed, and we hope 
passed for good. 

A General Survey of the Community. 

The first step in beginning a mission congre- 
gation is to make a general survey of the com- 
munity by a canvass. Having chosen a prospec- 
tive community, the missionary must find out 
what people predominate in that community. In 
cities and large towns chis can best be done by 
a house to house canvass. Going from door to 
door the missionary interviews the people and 
gathers his information. Having made such a 
canvass, the missionary is in possession of facts 
that will enable him to determine positively 
whether there are people enough in the commun- 
ity to warrant the beginning of the work. The 
matter of a canvass will take several days or 
several weeks, but it puts facts into the posses- 
sion of the missionary which he could not ac- 
quire in months by announcing a service and be- 
ginning the work at once. 

Such a canvass will reveal the fact whether 
there are unchurched Lutherans in the neighbor- 
hood. If there are no Lutheran people in the 
community, the probabilities are that it would 
be unwise to begin a work. While Lutheran 
Home Mission work does gather in those who are 
not Lutheran, still our mission leaders consider 
it unwise to begin a work without a nucleus of 
Lutheran people. 



BEGINNING A MISSION CONGREGATION 201 

The Permanency of the People. 

Taking it for granted that the canvass reveals 
a number of people, the next question to be con- 
sidered is the permanency of the people. There 
may be an abundance of material in the commun- 
ity, but will it remain there? In this industrial 
age the population often shifts so quickly that 
after the missionary has begun a promising work 
he suddenly finds his people have moved away and 
left him. We know of cases where thousands 
of dollars have been spent in erecting mission 
churches, and then the church was left without 
a congregation. The missionary must anticipate 
such a possibility. Such an occurrence is apt to 
happen in a community where all the people are 
dependent upon some one industry. Industrial 
changes take place rapidly, and the removal of 
a factory or the dying out of an industry is apt 
to send the people elsewhere for employment. 
As a general rule it is unwise to start a mission 
which must depend for its future upon a class 
of people who are not permanently located in 
the community. We do not deny that such peo- 
ple need the Gospel. They need it badly, but the 
question for the missionary to settle is whether 
he can establish the Church in their midst or 
not. While the Home Missionary gladly preaches 
the Gospel everywhere, his first object is to firm- 
ly plant the Church. 

Lutheran Home Missions. 14 



202 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

The Social Life of the Community. 

The social life of the community is a large fac- 
tor in determining the advisability of beginning 
a work. Where the social life is on a low plane 
the contingencies will be much greater. Where 
the social life is of a high standard the advance- 
ment of the work will be more rapid. We do 
not claim that Lutheran Home Mission work 
should not be carried on among those of a low 
plane of social life. What we do claim is, that 
the missionary must take this into consideration 
before he starts his work. His whole method of 
procedure and future development will be deter- 
mined largely by the social life of the people. 
Methods which are successful among people of 
one stratum of social life are totally inadequate 
among people of another plane of social life. 

The Financial Standing of the People. 

In making a general survey of the community, 
the financial standing of the people must be taken 
into consideration. Are the people of the com- 
munity in a position to support a church in their 
midst? This is an important question. While 
the Home Mission treasury aids mission churches 
it does not have as its object the continual sup- 
port of such churches. It is supposed that every 
mission church will eventually grow into a self- 
supporting congregation. 

The financial standing of the people not only 



BEGINNING A MISSION CONGREGATION 203 

determines the possibility of establishing a church 
in their midst, but it also determines the kind 
of a church that can be established. Will it 
take a long, hard struggle to build up a mission 
in the community, or will it grow rapidly and 
quickly develop into a strong congregation? The 
answer to these questions often is determined 
by the financial standing of the people. If the 
people are in fairly good circumstances, other 
things being equal, the mission will prosper. But 
if the people are poor, the probabilities are that 
it will take a long time to bring the mission to 
the point of self-sustentation. 

In investigating the financial standing of the 
people of a community we do not expect the mis- 
sionary to pay a visit to the bank and find out 
the amount of their chequing account and sav- 
ings deposits, but we do expect him to find out 
whether the people are property-owners or not. 
People who own property are always settled and 
more readily welcome a church in their midst 
than those who rent. Renters are never settled 
and seldom know where they will be next year, 
and consequently they are not much interested 
in building up a church in a community where 
they do not expect to remain for any length of 
time. 

A missionary is fortunate when he finds a 
number of property-owners who are willing to 
enter into the enterprise; for this will give a 
standing and permanency to the work which is 



204 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

very desirable. Property-owners stay in the 
neighborhood and welcome a church in their 
midst. 

The Occupation of the People. 

The occupation of the people must be taken into 
consideration. This often determines not only 
their permanency, but their attitude towards the 
Church. There are certain occupations which 
make it impossible for the people to take a vital 
interest in church work. It is difficult to estab- 
lish a mission in a community where the major- 
ity of the people are employed in railroading, or 
in the street-car service. In railroad towns and 
certain sections of large cities we find large com- 
munities of such people. They need the minis- 
trations of the Church, but the missionary will 
find it difficult to build up his work among them. 
A community where the occupation of the people 
is varied and they are not dependent upon one 
single industry is preferable. 

The missionary must ascertain as far as pos- 
sible what the occupation of his prospective mem- 
bers is. If they are all factory laborers, that 
will to a large extent influence the work. 

Is the community inhabited by people who are 
employed in office work? This he should know. 
As a general rule, people who are employed in 
offices are very desirable people to get interested 
in a mission enterprise. 

People with small businesses are always val- 



BEGINNING A MISSION CONGEEGATION 205 

uable to a mission enterprise. The grocer, the 
butcher, the baker, the druggist are in evidence 
in every community, and happy is the missionary 
who can enlist their interest. Such people are, 
as a rule, public-spirited and they touch the life 
of the community more quickly than any other 
people. When the business people of a commun- 
ity are unfriendly and opposed to a mission en- 
terprise, that fact will retard the work. It is 
almost absolutely necessary for the missionary 
to get the good will, if not the active coopera- 
tion, of the business interests in the vicinity of 
the mission. 

The leisure class must be taken into conside- 
ration. There may not be many people of leisure 
in the community, but if there is one or two, they 
may be very useful to the mission. When the 
missionary has some one interested in the mis- 
sion who has time to spend in the work, he has 
a power. Sometimes a man or woman who can 
devote time in the interest of a mission can do 
more than the missionary himself. People of 
leisure are, as a rule, people of influence and 
standing, and are a valuable addition to the work. 

Professional people must not be overlooked. A 
doctor, a lawyer, a school-teacher, or a professor 
are very important people. Their presence in 
the membership of a mission gives prestige to 
the work and produces confidence in the com- 
munity. The influence of a professional man is 
worth much to a mission congregation. 



206 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

Roomers and students in the neighborhood must 
not be forgotten. While they are often looked 
upon as transient, yet they make valuable addi- 
tions to the young church. The best church mem- 
bers and church workers often come from the 
most unexpected sources, and this class furnishes 
its full share. 

Religious Conditions of the Community. 

The religous conditions of the community are 
very important factors to be taken into conside- 
ration. That there may be a few Lutheran fam- 
ilies in a neighborhood is no excuse for starting 
a mission congregation. The question is whether 
the religous destitution of the community is such 
as to warrant the beginning of another church. 

Churches in the Community. 

The kind and number of Churches in the com- 
munity must be taken into consideration. If the 
existing Churches are taking care of the spiritual 
needs of the people there is no need to begin an- 
other. This, of course, is a difficult thing to de- 
termine. We Lutherans believe, and rightly so, 
that other denominations cannot take care of the 
people who hold to the Lutheran faith. While 
this is true, yet we must concede that people are 
being saved in other Churches, and that even Lu- 
therans can be saved in other Churches. Denom- 
inational loyalty and pride would naturally 
prompt us to erect our churches wherever we 



BEGINNING A MISSION CONGREGATION 207 

find those of our faith without a church, and yet 
there are times when denominational loyalty and 
pride must give way to common sense. If the 
community is overchurched already, why bring 
another struggling mission into existence? If 
there is a work in that community to be done 
which cannot be done by the Churches already 
there, then the Lutheran Church has a field and 
a duty, but not otherwise. Sometimes we are 
too hasty in coming to conclusions. The strength, 
efficiency, and ability of the other Churches must 
be considered before the missionary begins active 
operations towards beginning and building an- 
other church. The day of proselyting and build- 
ing altar against altar is passed, and we Luther- 
ans must learn that it is passed. 

Furthermore, unless there is a divine call to 
build a church in a community no church should 
be built. And without divine sanction no church 
can prosper. We doubt whether God ever called 
a Lutheran missionary pastor or any other pastor 
to bring into existence a church in a community 
that was already overchurched. There are too 
many places actually destitute of the Gospel for 
the Church to spend time, money and energy in 
a place where the spiritual wants of the people 
are adequately cared for. 

The Religious Conditions of the People. 

The religious conditions of the community must 
be studied by the missionary. A community may 



208 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

have plenty of churches and yet it may be a god- 
less community. On the other hand, the religious 
life of the people may be of a high order when 
seemingly there is scarcity of churches. The re- 
ligious feeling and attitude of the people in a 
neighborhood will be a prominent factor in the 
development of the mission congregation. It is 
difficult to build up a successful work in a com- 
munity that is full of rationalists and free- 
thinkers. The very air seems to be charged with 
their unbelief, and it affects all who live in that 
community whether they know it or not. Natur- 
ally this is the kind of a community where the 
Church should be planted, but let the missionary 
who plants it not expect too much in the begin- 
ning. He will have to fight for every soul he 
wins and for every step of progress his mission 
makes. It makes all the difference in the world 
whether the people of the community are reli- 
giously inclined or not. Some of our most pros- 
perous missions have been established in just such 
communities, but it has taken faith, stubborn per- 
severance, and years of work to bring them up 
to the point of self-support and to gain for them 
the respect and good will of the people around. 

Again, let the missionary note well the number 
of backsliders, indifferent, and degenerate that 
may be in the neighborhood. They need the Gos- 
pel, perhaps more than others, but they are poor 
material with which to begin a mission church. 
If the work of Home Missions was only to bring 



BEGINNING A MISSION CONGEEGATION 209 

the Gospel to the destitute, then these should be 
the first to be sought by the missionary, but this 
work has another aim and that is to permanently 
establish the Church in a particular locality. Such 
people are very good subjects for the preaching 
of the Gospel, but they make very poor pillars in 
the Church of Christ. Not that we advise the 
missionary to neglect them, but that he the more 
seek out those of good character and pure lives 
who have no church connections and get them in- 
terested. Let it be distinctly understood that the 
work of Home Missions addresses itself not only 
to those who have gone back in their spiritual 
life, but to those who are without church connec- 
tions. 

Types of Lutherans in the Community. 

Taking it for granted that the canvass reveals 
the presence of a sufficient number of people to 
warrant the beginning of work in that locality, a 
careful analysis of the material should be made. 
First there will be found a number of earnest 
people who are without church connection. These 
are the ones who will hail with delight the coming 
of the missionary and they will be his chief sup- 
porters. These are the ones who will take up the 
work in earnest and will make glad his heart. 
The larger the number of such persons the mis- 
sionary finds, the greater will be his success in 
the community. 

He will also find those who have at one time 



210 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

been connected with the Lutheran Church, but 
who cared little for its ministrations and have 
willingly wandered away from its folds. Prob- 
ably a large number will belong to this class. The 
fires of living faith can again be kindled in these 
hearts, but it will take time, labor, and prayer. 
Some of this class will develop into active Chris- 
tians and prove a blessing to the Church, but 
many of them will remain as a burden upon the 
heart of the missionary. 

Still another class of Lutherans that will be 
found during the canvass will be those who are 
Lutherans in name, but never were spiritually 
minded people. Whether the Lutheran Church 
produces a larger number of this kind of people 
than the other Churches we do not know, but this 
we do know, that the Lutheran Home Missionary 
finds an abundance of such people. They take 
pride in the fact that they were confirmed in the 
Church, they are careful to have their children 
baptized, but when it comes to anything further 
they do not care. They will not identify them- 
selves with the work. Once in a while the mis- 
sionary will be able to pluck a brand from the 
burning, but not often. Such people are the 
worry of the missionary's life. He feels a special 
duty towards them. He knows that if he cannot 
reach them with the Gospel ministrations no one 
else can, and yet the months and years pass and 
they are still unsaved. It takes grace, patience, 
and power from on high to bring them to a reali- 



BEGINNING A MISSION CONGREGATION 211 

zation of their sinful condition and lead them into 
the Church. 

The Advisability of Starting a Mission in the 

Community. 

After the missionary has canvassed the locality 
and analyzed the material, then, and not till then, 
is he in a position to decide whether work should 
be begun or not. Having found the material, 
several other things must be considered before 
he goes forward with the work. 

The Need of a Lutheran Church. 

Is there an actual need for a Lutheran Church 
in this community? This is now the question 
that must be settled. Is there a work to be done 
in this community that cannot be done by the 
forces already at work? Are there people here 
who, if not saved by the Lutheran Church, will 
not be saved ? If such is the case, then there 
is a real need for Lutheran Home Mission work, 
and the missionary should go forward. But a 
half-dozen Lutheran families in a locality do not 
necessarily constitute a dire need for a Lutheran 
Church. It may be that their spiritual wants can 
be supplied by a Lutheran Church at some dis- 
tance. Missions cannot be started simply for the 
convenience of a few people. There must be a 
positive need or there is no warrant for beginning 
the work. 



212 LUTHEKAN HOME MISSIONS 

The Attitude of the Community Towards the 
Proposed Church. 

We have said before that it is very necessary 
to get the good will of certain classes of people 
in the community. We wish to say also that it is 
just as necessary to get the good will of the com- 
munity as such. When once the missionary ac- 
quires the good will of a community, then his 
work will be a success. To start a mission against 
the good will of the people to whom it is supposed 
to minister, will be a difficult problem indeed. 
Here is where the tact, discretion, and wisdom 
of the missionary will have to be used. That man 
who does not know how to go about gaining the 
good will of a community is not qualified to be 
a Home Missionary. To gain the good will of a 
community is not as difficult as it may be imag- 
ined. Let the missionary be a man with single- 
ness of purpose to serve God, and then let him 
have good common sense, and men will respect 
him as a minister and honor his work. 

The Attitude of Other Churches Towards the 
Proposed Church. 

The missionary must consider the attitude of 
other Churches in the neighborhood. Particularly 
must he take into consideration the attitude of 
other Lutheran Churches. It may seem strange, 
but Lutheran altars have often been erected over 
against Lutheran altars. Synodical partizanship 



BEGINNING A MISSION CONGREGATION 213 

has done untold harm to the Lutheran Church. 
This is true in the German, the Scandinavian, and 
the American branches of our Church. In our 
eagerness to build up English Lutheran missions 
we have often not taken into consideration the 
attitude of foreign-speaking Lutheran Churches 
in the vicinity of our proposed location. But we 
have learned from experience that it is a serious 
mistake to start an English mission without first 
seriously canvassing all the conditions that must 
be met later on. 

Starting the Mission. 

Having canvassed the community, analyzed the 
material, considered the contingencies, and come 
to the conclusion that there is need for a Lutheran 
Church, the problem now before the missionary is 
actually starting. Much depends upon a right 
start. In fact, ofttimes a right start is half of 
the battle. 

Securing a Place of Meeting. 

The place of meeting is the first important 
item. Here the missionary will meet his first 
serious problem. The place of meeting should, 
if possible, be centrally located in the community 
which the proposed mission is to serve. To start 
in a place that is located at one side of the terri- 
tory is a mistake. But conditions alone will de- 
termine the place of meeting. As a general rule 
the missionary has to secure whatever he can, 



214 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

not what he would like. Unless he has a portable 
chapel at his command the place will have to be 
some building in the neighborhood. A vacant 
store room, a hall, or possibly a church will be 
the place of meeting. 

Many a Lutheran mission has been started in 
a hall. The surroundings and furnishings of a 
hall are not conducive to the spirit of worship, 
but when nothing else can be obtained this will 
have to do. 

Other things being equal, we would prefer a 
store room to a hall. Here the mission has pos- 
session of the property and can arrange altar 
and pulpit, etc., to look rather presentable. When 
a church can be secured, that is far preferable. 
But if the work is to be begun in rented quarters 
it is advisable to arrange the place in as churchly 
a manner as possible. Let there be an altar, even 
if it is only a temporary structure. Let there be 
a pulpit and a reading desk, and offering plates. 
In every way possible let the surroundings im- 
press upon the persons coming the idea of rev- 
erence and worship. Our Lutheran people are 
accustomed to churchly surroundings, and they 
will rejoice when they come into the mission to 
see that it at least resembles that which they 
were used to when they did formerly attend 
church. It is better to delay the opening service 
a week or two and have the place properly ar- 
ranged, than to begin in a place that is bare and 
uninviting. 



BEGINNING A MISSION CONGREGATION 215 

Working up an Interest in the Community. 

The place of meeting having been secured, the 
next step is to get people to the service. Ofttimes 
a Sunday-school is started first and in this way 
the missionary gets acquainted with the people. 
But many of our best workers now prefer starting 
the church services first, or both together. In 
our judgment, whenever possible, the church 
should be started first. The object of the en- 
deavor is to plant a church, and we believe it is 
a mistake to first draw the attention of the people 
to the school, which is the smaller of the two, 
than to the church, which is the main idea. Let 
the community know that this is no experiment 
with a Sunday-school, but an effort to establish 
a church, and it will respond. No community 
cares to experiment, but almost any community 
will respond to an effort at that which is to be 
permanent. Let the community know that this 
is not an experiment, but an effort to actually 
plant a church. 

In working up an interest in the community, 
the missionary must be able to show that there 
is a need for a Lutheran Church. If he is unable 
to convince the people of the need he will be 
unable to start his work successfully. His first 
endeavor then will be to impress upon those whom 
he wishes to interest in the enterprise the abso- 
lute need of the work. If he is able to do this, 
then he will have a following immediately. 



216 LUTHEKAN HOME MISSIONS 

In working up an interest the missionary will 
have to depend upon private calls. He will have 
to visit the people in their homes and talk over 
the needs and in this way gain them to his cause. 

Having secured a few who are interested, he 
should at once put them to work. If he can get 
a man of some standing who will go with him 
into the homes of others he has a mighty power 
on his side. A few interested individuals can do 
more to work up an interest in the community 
than the missionary himself. 

After the material has been canvassed he may 
call a preliminary meeting, if he thinks it ad- 
visable. Often such a meeting will produce en- 
thusiasm, and that is what he now needs. 

The missionary must use publicity in working 
up an interest in his work. He should use the 
public press as much as he can. Usually the 
papers of the city, if properly approached, will 
give him a short "write up" in the news columns, 
and also space in the "Church Notices." The 
missionary should not hesitate to take advantage 
of this. In fact it would not be out of place for 
him to pay for space in the papers so that his 
enterprise may fully come before the public. He 
is not to let his light shine under a bushel, but 
from a candlestick, where all may see it. 

Handbills and dodgers can be used effectively 
in advertising the place, time, and nature of the 
services. A wise use of advertising material will 
prove very effective in getting the work before 



BEGINNING A MISSION CONGREGATION 217 

the people. Large signs in windows announcing 
the services scattered throughout the neighbor- 
hood will be very effective in spreading informa- 
tion concerning the mission. 

All advertising is only secondary. The real 
interest will depend upon the missionary himself. 
Possibly nowhere in church work does the per- 
sonality touch mean so much as in working up 
an interest in the community. The personality 
of the missionary means much. Whether we like 
to admit it or not, people are attracted by the 
man as much as they are by the Gospel he 
preaches. In its final analysis interest in the 
work will depend upon his ability to use the 
Gospel. 

Choosing the Material with which to Begin. 

It may seem strange to say that the missionary 
should choose the material with which he begins 
his work, but this is just what he must do. The 
reputation of the work from the very beginning 
will be based, not upon the missionary, but upon 
the people who show an interest in the work. If 
persons of unsavory reputation in the community 
appear to be leaders in the enterprise the com- 
munity will at once form a poor opinion of the 
whole movement. If persons of character and 
standing in the neighborhood show an interest 
and take part, then the community as such will 
form a good opinion of the enterprise and will 
at least take a tolerating attitude towards the 

Lutheran Home Missions. 15 



218 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

work. The reputation of the mission and the 
attitude of the community depend entirely upon 
the persons who take part. Therefore we say 
that it is very necessary for the missionary to 
choose his material with which to begin. 

In choosing his material the missionary must 
use the wisest discretion. No one but himself 
must know that any discrimination has been 
made. For him to go into a community and let 
it be known that he is only seeking a certain class 
of people means sure defeat. Everybody must be 
invited. Everybody must be made welcome, but 
not everyone must be allowed to assume leader- 
ship in the undertaking. That this is a wise cau- 
tion can be seen from the fact that persons who 
have been trouble-makers in other congregations 
are very apt to come forward and offer to assume 
responsibility in the new enterprise. For the 
missionary to permit such persons to assume a 
prominent place would be fatal folly ; for persons 
who have been trouble-makers in one church will 
be trouble-makers in another. And while their 
reputation may not be known to the missionary 
it is known in the community, and their presence 
and activity in the mission will be a hindrance 
instead of a help. Unless the missionary has the 
ability to read character and understand human 
nature he will be imposed upon from the very 
beginning. It is imperative to the success of the 
work that he makes a wise choice of his material 
with which to begin. 



BEGINNING A MISSION CONGKEGATION 219 

The First Service. 

The first service is not only of historical in- 
terest but of vital importance to the mission. 
Upon this service depends much of the future 
success of the work. First impressions are 
lasting, and this is particularly true of the first 
service of a mission congregation. This first 
service should be carefully planned and arranged. 
The place of service should be in the best of order 
and the service should be conducted with the 
dignity and solemnity becoming a church service. 
Even though the attendance may be small it 
should leave the impression of having been a 
complete church service. In order to make the 
service what it should be previous rehearsals may 
have been necessary. 

The full liturgy or Morning Service should be 
used. At first thought this may seem impossible, 
but experience has proven that it is the best way. 
Use the complete service from the beginning and 
the mission will be spared the agony of trying to 
introduce it later in life. Let the officiating 
clergyman wear the robe at this first service. 
The robe is the Lutheran emblem of office, and 
lends dignity to the service. To wear the robe 
at the first service also obviates an argument later 
on about the advisability of introducing it into 
the church. 

Whenever the missionary can draw on a neigh- 
boring church for help in conducting the first 



220 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

service he should do so. On the question of the 
first service we quote Rev. Ashmead Schaeffer at 
length. He says: "Another important thing in 
starting a mission is to begin as it is intended 
to continue the work. Too often it happens that 
those who have the direction of affairs at the 
beginning think that after a start is made the 
necessary changes can be effected to bring all 
things into the usual order and harmonious work- 
ing of a Lutheran Church. This is a mistake, and 
often is the cause of more or less friction after- 
wards. The very first service should be just what 
the service is to be on every following Sunday. 
And in these days surely it is not so difficult to 
have the full service of the Church Book rendered 
at such a time. In a large city individual mem- 
bers or even a choir from some established con- 
gregation can be 'borrowed' to conduct the 
responsive part of the Service, and to show those 
who are not of us how beautiful, impressive, and 
devotional is the Service of the Church. But 
along with this it is important to aim to have 
all take part in the service, which can only be done 
by having a good supply of Church Books on hand, 
or the Order of Service printed, with a number of 
hymns, so that every person present can have 
one and join his voice with others, or follow the 
congregation as it sings praise unto God. 

"Then too, the Clerical Robe should not be 
wanting. If worn at the first service no opposi- 
tion will ever be heard ; but let an effort be made 



BEGINNING A MISSION CONGREGATION 221 

to introduce it later, and there will be a murmur 
of dissatisfaction that, to say the least, will be un- 
pleasant. Of course, circumstances here, as in 
every other case, will have some weight, but very 
often the difficulties in the way of using the robe 
at the first service are only seeming, while the 
wisdom of so doing must be apparent to all. 

"There is no question that the music rendered 
at the service of a mission should receive all 
proper attention. If good music makes our 
churches attractive to many, is it wise to be in- 
different in this matter in a mission ? In this field 
of church work paid choirs are not to be thought 
of, and they should not be, even if the money 
were provided for such expenditure, but every 
legitimate and earnest effort should be made to 
secure good singing and a proper, impressive, 
and intelligent rendering of the Service. 'An- 
thems' need not be used — I wish it would become 
unfashionable to sing them in our churches — but 
the good effect produced by the hearty, believing, 
prayerful singing of the grand old hymns of the 
Church and her beautiful liturgical service, will 
soon be felt by that mission that pays the proper 
regard to its musical department." 



^•s 



CHAPTER XII. 

Securing Members. 

The preliminary work having been done and 
the first service held, the missionary is now face 
to face with all the problems of building up the 
work. These problems will be many and will 
vary in different localities. Mission congrega- 
tions are like children — no two are exactly alike. 
The missionary must be able to adjust himself to 
the individual work before him. 

Securing Members. 

The prime object of Home Missions is to 
gather into the Church those who are without 
church connection. This object the missionary 
must ever keep before his mind. As the work ad- 
vances other things will seem to be more im- 
portant, but they are not. Every step taken by 
the missionary must be taken for this purpose. 
His house to house canvassing, his preaching, his 
buying lot and building church must all be done 
with this idea in mind. The life of the work 
will depend upon his ability to get members to 
unite with the enterprise. 



SECURING MEMBERS 223 

As to the methods of securing members every 
missionary will have his own. But the method 
that counts is the one that reaches individuals. 
In Home Mission work the personal work of the 
missionary and his workers will produce better 
results than anything else. Hand-picked fruit is 
the best and carefully selected members are the 
best. It is not such an easy matter to get people 
interested in a mission enterprise. The Macedo- 
nian cry, "Come over and help us," is not as 
sincere as one may be led to think. People are 
not anxious to come into the Church and assume 
the responsibilities of church membership. The 
missionary cannot simply start a work and then 
expect the people to flock to his church. Every 
member that he gets will be gotten by hard work 
and nothing else. Those who have been away 
from the church for a long time do not feel their 
need of the church, and one of the first things 
the missionary will have to do will be to convince 
them of their individual need of the church. Ex- 
perience shows that as a rule people are willing 
to have church privileges for their children, but 
so far as they are concerned they do not need 
it. To convince them of their own need will be 
the task of the missionary, and this is not an 
easy task. 

However it ofttimes happens that a man may 
be conscious of his need and still he will not come 
into the church. In such cases the missionary 
must know how to overcome the stubborn will 



224 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

of such a person. We have found that in such 
cases the missionary must use the power of num- 
bers. Let him take with him two or three men 
and then approach his man, and he is much more 
apt to have success in winning him. In spiritual 
matters as in physical ones two or three men 
have much more power than one. When the mis- 
sionary alone approaches an obstinate one the 
man will argue and debate and retard, but when 
two or three equals or superiors approach him 
he feels defeated from the outset. He feels that 
his will is not strong enough to stand up and 
oppose them, and he also is influenced by their 
personal interest in his welfare. That mission- 
ary is wise who can use the men of his mission 
to help him in securing members. In fact, his 
mission will grow just in proportion to the 
amount of effort put forth by the laymen. 

In securing members for the mission the mis- 
sionary is often tempted to put forth much effort 
among the women and children and neglect the 
men. This is a fatal mistake. This comes about 
because it is easier to reach the women and chil- 
dren, and they are more easily won to the cause. 
The women are in the home and are found during 
the day, while the men are away at work and 
are not so easily approached. However, experi- 
ence has proven that it is best that the missionary 
put forth his best efforts in behalf of the men. 
We do not say that he should neglect the women, 
but that he redouble his effort to reach the men. 



SECURING MEMBERS 225 

When once he has won the wife and children he 
does not know whether he will win the husband 
or not, but let him win the husband, and in the 
great majority of cases he has won the whole 
family. Other things being equal, it is best to 
devote much time to the men. They will be hard- 
er to win, but when once won they will be worth 
more to the cause than the women and children. 

Winning Men. 

Winning men to the mission is so important 
that we digress for a fuller discussion of the 
subject. The Home Mission work of the Church 
is the greatest task before this generation, and 
to carry it on we must have more men. This 
work of the Church is a man's work, and the 
question is how to get men. How can the mis- 
sionary reach the men and get them interested 
so that they will spend and be spent in the service 
of Christ? 

The motive for reaching men is worthy of con- 
sideration. The incentive to win men for the 
mission and for Christ dare not be a selfish one. 
To build up a mission into a strong congregation 
is not a pure enough motive. To win fame would 
be a very selfish reason. To give the mission 
standing in the community or synod would be to 
belittle the true idea of the Church. The mission- 
ary is to win men to the Church, not for the 
sake of the Church, but for the benefit of the men. 
He is to bring them into the Church so that they 



226 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

may be saved and so they in turn may help to 
save others. His motive is not earth-born but 
heaven-born. He is to win men to Christ and 
His Church for their own sake and for the sake 
of the Lord, the head of the Church. He is to 
win men because they need to be won, and be- 
cause they are worth winning. He is to gain 
men for the Kingdom because this is his com- 
mission from the Master. The love of souls should 
burn within his heart. Like John Knox he should 
pray, "Lord, give me souls, or I die." Where 
such earnest consecration exists there will be the 
proper motive inciting him to great activity in 
winning men for the Master and for his mission 
congregation. 

The Boy. 

With the pure motive prompting him to action 
the question arises, what men are to be won? 
Where shall the missionary expend his efforts? 
Years of experience strengthen the conviction 
that the man he must reach first is the embryotic 
man, the man in the making, the boy. Statistics 
prove that the number of men who unite with 
the Church after their twentieth year is very 
small. Our congregations lack men because we 
do not reach them at the time they are becom- 
ing men. What the boy is the man will be. The 
boy problem is in reality the man problem. The 
problem of winning men for Christ and the 
Church is the problem of winning the boy. The 



SECURING MEMBERS 227 

boys in the Sunday-school to-day will be the men 
in the Church to-morrow. The missionary can- 
not pay too much attention to the boys. If he 
can win the boys and hold them, the future of 
the mission is assured. Every effort put forth 
to hold the boys is effort well spent. 

Young Men Getting a Start in Life. 

We next mention the young men getting a start 
in life. Our cities and towns are full of such 
young men, and they make the very best material 
out of which to build up a mission. Many of 
them come from Christian homes but have drifted 
away from the Church. They are full of ambi- 
tion and push, and a mission enterprise appeals 
to them because it gives them an opportunity to 
work where their work will count. If the mision- 
ary can only reach them they will become his 
best members and most reliable workers. Their 
hearts are responsive, their ambitions high, and 
their future is bright. When won to the cause 
they will stay by it when others become discour- 
aged and quit. The missionary should ever be 
on the lookout for such young men. 

The Young Family. 

Another phase of this work presents itself in 
the young family. Many young men drift away 
from the Church, but when they are married, set- 
tle down, and realize the responsibilities of fa- 
therhood they are peculiarly receptive to ap- 



228 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

proach. Here is an opportunity we have over- 
looked. The young father can be won. He is 
in a mood to be won, and we should put forth 
heroic efforts to win him. 

The Indifferent. 

By far the largest number of men outside the 
Church to-day belong to that class called indiffer- 
ent. This class the missionary must reach. The 
man who lacks interest is the man he must win. 
There are many causes for this indifference, but 
we will mention only a few. Probably the great- 
est cause for religous indifference in our day is 
man's engrossing fidelity to other things. It is 
not so much his opposition to the Church as his 
absolute absorption in other things that keeps 
him away. As a rule he wants his children in 
the Sunday-school and his wife at the services, 
but as for himself he does not have the time. 
Pursuit of pleasure also keeps many away. The 
recent rapid development of cheap forms of 
amusement is noteworthy. The people are be- 
coming engrossed with pleasure, and in propor- 
tion as that grows fidelity to the Church dies. 
Some men are overworked. They work every 
day in the week. Some have only one Sunday in 
a month, while others have only two or three Sun- 
days in a whole year. This is a sad situation. 
But sad as it is these men must be reached with 
the Gospel message. Their lives must be bright- 
ened. They must be won for the Master. This 



SECURING MEMBERS 229 

great class of indifferent men challenges the 
Church. Whatever the cause of their indifference 
may be the problem is to reach them. Many of 
them can be won. When the missionary makes 
a determined effort they will be won. 

The Doubter. 

There is a large class of doubters which must 
be reached. They constitute a difficult problem 
indeed. There are two classes of doubters, honest 
and dishonest. There is little hope for dishonest 
doubters. Usually such men are seeking to cover 
their sins under the guise of doubt. They seem 
to think that if they take the attitude of doubters 
they will not have to answer for their sins. How- 
ever, there are honest doubters. Doubt seems 
to be inherent in some natures. It is as natural 
for some men to doubt as it is for them to breathe. 

Almost everything in religion is doubted by 
somebody, but we will mention a few of those 
things which are paramount in our day. The au- 
thority of the Scripture is one of the first things 
called into question. It is our experience that it 
is best to let the Scriptures speak for themselves. 
We need not try to defend the old Book. It will 
defend itself. In cases of this kind it has been 
our practice to inquire of the doubter whether 
his life approximated the ideal life portrayed in 
the Bible. In almost every case this silenced him. 
There are men who are studying the "Mistakes 
of Moses", but they are not so plentiful as for- 



230 LUTHEKAN HOME MISSIONS 

merly. The trouble with these men is that they 
will read every other book under the sun except 
the Bible itself. The mistakes of Moses right 
themselves in the light of the whole Bible. Some 
men have no faith in their own day and genera- 
tion. They will point to every conceivable sin, 
and as a grand conclusion affirm that everything 
is corrupt. As a rule such men are not morally 
clean and must be dealt with on that basis. But 
to whatever class the doubter may belong he can 
be won. We can win men who doubt, because we 
have the power of God's Word to help and sustain 
us. 

The Pivotal Man. 

While all classes of men are to be won, still 
some men are worth more to the cause than oth- 
ers. The missionary must, by all means, reach 
strong pivotal men. In every community there 
are men who are leaders, men who are looked 
up to and respected. These are the men he must 
reach. One such is worth more to the cause than 
a dozen others. Such a man will lead others. A 
study of the New Testament reveals the fact that 
our Lord Jesus never strove to win numbers. He 
always selected an individual man and labored 
with him until He gained him. Some of the great- 
est discourses He ever delivered were spoken to 
individuals, like Nicodemus and the two disciples 
on the way to Emmaus. He never strove to gain 
the multitude, but strong pivotal men out of the 



SECURING MEMBERS 231 

multitude. In choosing His disciples He did not 
pick up the first man He met. No, He chose 
strong pivotal men, men of power, men of charac- 
ter, men who were capable of becoming leaders. 
The missionary must learn from His example. 
While not neglecting nor refusing the others the 
pivotal man must be reached and won. Such piv- 
otal men* both young and old, there are in every 
neighborhood. These he must seek out and bring 
to them the Gospel message. Such men are need- 
ed in the Church of Christ. When he wins such 
men he accomplishes much. "Where Saul has 
slain his thousands David will slay his tens of 
thousands." He must seek the Davids. 

Methods of Winning Men. 

We come now to a most interesting part of our 
discussion, namely, the methods employed in 
reaching and winning men. The means at our 
disposal are those God has given to His Church, 
the Word and the Sacraments. These together 
with human personality, integrity, tact, and com- 
mon sense are the equipments with which to 
catch men. But to be successful the missionary 
must know how to use this equipment. Once Lu- 
ther almost lost his life handling a sword with 
which he was unfamiliar, and we are in danger 
of injuring ourselves and harming those whom we 
would help unless we know how to successfully 
wield our weapon — the sword of the Spirit. 



232 LUTHEEAN HOME MISSIONS 

Methods of Approach. 

Nothing is so powerful in reaching men as the 
Word of God. But the fisher of men must know 
how to cast the Gospel net. It is our growing 
conviction that we do not study that Word enough. 
General study of the Bible is not sufficient. We 
must study it so that we may apply it to the in- 
dividual man. This has been our weakness in 
the past. But when once we study our Bible 
with the idea of applying its messages to the 
individual man, then we will be more successful. 
The Bible was written for all ages and conditions 
of people, and some portions will appeal to men 
more readily than others. In the past we have 
appealed to the law too much. Men are best 
moved by example. They want to see the man 
who has "made good." Should we not take to 
men these examples of men who have "made 
good", and move them thereby? 

All method presupposes preparation, and if we 
are to use method in winning men there must 
be previous preparation. One of the most neces- 
sary steps in this preparation is the study of men. 
We must know men if we are to win them. If 
it is necessary for the hunter to know the haunts 
and habits of his game, surely it is more neces- 
sary for him who would win men to Christ to 
know the haunts and habits of men. If we are 
to reach men we must study them. Here we find 
the weakest point in the training of the modern 



SECURING MEMBERS 233 

ministry. We have not been taught how to study 
men. Our seminaries have not realized the im- 
portance of this study. We have failed and failed 
often because we have not studied our man. It 
is here that a knowledge of psychology comes to 
the rescue of the one seeking to win men. Some 
by nature, inclination, and experience have a fair 
knowledge of men, but most of us are not so for- 
tunate. Coming as the majority of us do from 
the farms and smaller villages and not having 
been thrown into contact with large bodies of 
men in our younger days, it is absolutely neces- 
sary that we study men. It is impossible to go 
into details, but a few suggestions may not come 
amiss. There are certain general types of men. 
We ought to be able to classify our men. We 
ought to know enough about the mental make-up 
of a man to determine to what general psycho- 
logical type he belongs. We ought to understand 
something about temperaments. 

While psychological types are important, still 
there are other things important also. In our 
English Lutheran work national characteristics 
must be taken into consideration. As a rule we 
are not working with the American, but with 
the German, the Swede, the Norwegian, or the 
Dane. Now these nationalities all have their own 
distinct characteristics, notions, and ways, and 
they must be dealt with accordingly. The Ger- 
man cannot be won after the same manner as 
the Swede, nor the Norwegian as the Dane. The 

Lutheran, Home Missions. 16 



234 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

approach and work must be different with each 
nationality. It is important to know this. If we 
are to win men we need to make a careful study 
of national characteristics. 

Conditions under which men labor are worthy 
of our study. The trade at which a man labors, 
or the occupation he follows, often determines 
his attitude towards the Church. It is a well- 
known fact that only a small part of those be- 
longing to labor unions take any interest in the 
Church. As a rule the men who come to our 
churches are from the middle class. They are 
artisans, clerks, office men, and farmers. This 
fact is significant and needs study. We must solve 
the problem of reaching the laboring class. The 
other denominations are putting forth every ef- 
fort, and we dare not lag behind. The time has 
come when we must awake out of our sleep, open 
our eyes to the great opportunities around us, 
study the problems, and then go forth and con- 
quer. Men can be reached. The Lutheran Church 
has what the men need. We must learn to apply 
the means of grace more intelligently. 

It is our contention that if men are to be won 
to the Kingdom the only successful way to do 
it is to gather them one at a time. The example 
of our Saviour bears us out in this assertion. 
If this is true, then several seemingly small things 
become very important. Among these we men- 
tion first the problem of approach. How are we 
to approach the individual man so that we can 



SECURING MEMBERS 235 

win him ? Some over-zealous ones have contended 
that we should approach a man anywhere at any 
time, but as Lutherans we have long ago learned 
better. The manner, place, and time of approach 
are as important as the approach itself. There 
is still much to be learned in regard to the ap- 
proaching of men. Without doubt the best way 
of approach is the natural way. Strong men are 
seldom won by high-handed methods. When a 
man comes to church service we have a legitimate 
way of approach either at the church or at his 
home. He has opened the way and naturally 
expects us to follow him up. Here is where the 
study of men is valuable. First impressions are 
divine. The first impression on the man almost 
decides whether we will win or not. Business 
houses are wise in this respect. Great care is 
exercised in sending out salesmen to secure a 
first order. The best man, the man who knows 
how to approach a prospective customer is always 
selected in such cases. They realize that all the 
hoped for future orders depend upon that first 
approach. After the first order is taken almost 
any salesman can get the future orders. If this 
is true in business, how much more true is it 
not in the King's business. Plan a first approach 
as carefully as a general would plan a charge on 
the enemy. Study the man beforehand. Learn 
all that can be learned about him, "his nature, 
his tastes, his temperament, his training, his sur- 
rounding, his business, his employment, his incli- 



236 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

nation, his attitude, and his companions." This 
will take time, but we must not be in too big a 
hurry. A careful study and a well planned ap- 
proach we have found to be the secret of getting 
men into the church. 

Having met the man what is to be said? Say 
as little as possible. Direct the conversation, and 
generally the man will do the talking himself. 
Let him talk. The best way to convince a large 
majority of men of the foolishness of their way 
is to keep still and let them talk. They will soon 
betray themselves. Whatever the man may say, 
keep calm. Do not let him arouse your temper. 
You have sought the interview and you must en- 
dure the consequences. Do not worry if you do 
not make much progress the first time. You 
have broken the ice. You have laid a foundation. 
Build up steadily later on. Apply the Word of 
God at every step and let it do its work. It is 
the work of the Holy Spirit to convert the man. 
Your work is to convey the Gospel message. 

Time of Approach. 

The time of approach is important. Wise men 
plan their time. You cannot catch fish when the 
wind is blowing in the wrong direction, neither 
can you catch men unless you have favorable 
conditions. Never approach a man just before 
his dinner or during his busiest time. A time 
of business depression, a time of accident, a time 
of general sorrow, or a time when there is a 



SECURING MEMBERS 237 

death in the family may be your opportunity. 
When these opportunities come do not let them 
pass by unused. 

A few general suggestions may be of value. 
Never talk to a man about his personal salvation 
in the presence of another man. Never hurry. 
Take plenty of time. In our mission work we 
like to get results at once, but you cannot hurry 
a man in his religious actions. If it takes a 
year to win a man, it is a year well spent. It 
has taken the writer two years to win some men, 
and in one case he kept on for four years, but 
when he won his man he had a good one. Deep 
water runs quietly. Deep, strong natures do not 
move on the impulse of the moment. Always be 
frank. Deal with your man absolutely on the 
square. Try to move him by emotion and you 
fail. Let the Word do its silent work in his heart. 
Always be careful how you apply that Word. You 
cannot win a man by bombarding him with Scrip- 
ture passages. Many books on this subject give 
a number of specific cases and then a list of 
Scripture passages to be used in each case. This 
was diagnosing the case and then applying the 
remedy alike to all with the result that some 
were healed and many killed outright. This meth- 
od is being abandoned even by those most radi- 
cal on this point. First convey the thought and 
then follow it up with a Scripture quotation, and 
you will have better success/ 

Conversation plays an important part in the 



238 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

winning of individual men. There is something 
of the man himself given out in conversation 
which cannot be imparted in any other way. A 
few suggestions are pertinent. Be careful not to 
make an exhibition of your own life. Your life's 
story may be intensely interesting, but it will 
not sound good to the ear of the man whom you 
have not won. 

As a general rule it is a mistake to use much 
argument. Very few men are won by it. Gen- 
erally argument is a cloak for something else. 
The man who knows least about the Bible and 
cares least about his spiritual welfare is the man 
who invariably has an argument. We have been 
told that it is a common thing for the patrons 
of the saloon to argue about religion. Sincerity, 
sympathy, and personality count much more than 
argument. If you are in earnest your speech will 
reveal it. In a ten years' ministry we have had 
the experience of convincing one man by argu- 
ment and only one. 

Correspondence. 

A valuable means of reaching men is corres- 
pondence. In the business world the postage 
stamp has become a mighty power. In our efforts 
to reach men we must learn to use it. Aside from 
a direct personal appeal this is the next best 
thing. There is something individual and per- 
sonal in a letter which not even an address or 
sermon contains. Here is an undeveloped field. 



SECURING MEMBERS 239 

The popularity of the postal card shows the pow- 
er that lies in this method. Why not apply it 
in our work of winning men ? Personally we have 
gotten some valuable results from letters. At 
the morning service one Sunday we had two fam- 
ilies present, a direct result of writing letters to 
those fathers. A letter written to a man will 
bear fruit long afterwards. We have among our 
correspondence letters which we prize very highly 
which were written in response to others we had 
sent out relative to the spiritual welfare of men. 
A tactful and earnest letter may be laid aside 
for a time, but the memory of it will linger and 
it will be hunted and read again. 

Having won the man the next step is to get 
him into the mission. He must signify his wil- 
lingness and must actually join the congrega- 
tion. Here custom varies. We have found it 
very beneficial to use application blanks. Experi- 
ence has taught us that it is wise to have a man 
sign a formal application for membership. A 
man considers a written signature more sacred 
and more binding than a mere promise. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
Securing Lot and Building. 

A Mission should not Stay in Temporary Quarters 
any Longer than Necessary. 

A rented store room or a portable chapel may 
do very well for a beginning, but no mission ought 
to stay long in such quarters. The surroundings 
are not congenial to worship and are in no way 
inspiring. As long as a mission is in such quar- 
ters the members feel uncertain and are not quite 
sure what the final outcome will be. In such sur- 
roundings it is almost impossible to draw stran- 
gers, and the life of the mission depends upon 
getting strangers interested in the work. Those 
who do come while it is housed thus usually do not 
add great strength to the work. A universal ex- 
perience in mission work is that with a permanent 
church building comes a better class of people. 

The Purchase of a Lot Tends to Give Permanency 

to the Work. 

The purchase of a lot gives a mission congre- 
gation the consciousness of permanency. The 



SECURING LOT AND BUILDING 241 

people know where the future church building 
is to be located, and the anticipation of that event 
encourages and inspires them. In imagination 
they see the new structure rising, and this gives 
a wonderful impetus to the work. 

The possession of a lot not only inspires the 
members of the mission, but it tends to give the 
impression to the community that the mission is 
now taking a permanent place in the neighbor- 
hood. The people of the community, from that 
time on, will watch and inquire after the progress 
of the mission. Knowing that there is to be a 
new church their curiosity is aroused, and this 
curiosity often leads to interest in the work. The 
missionary pastor finds it easier to secure mem- 
bers after he can tell them where the church 
building is to be erected. 

The Purchase of a Lot Arouses Hope in the 

People. 

When the children of Israel were in the wil- 
derness without a permanent place of abode they 
were rather hopeless and discouraged. That is 
the feeling of a mission as long as it has nothing 
permanent. The purchase of a lot immediately 
arouses hope in the breast of even the most criti- 
cal and forlorn member. The very fact that the 
mission now has become possessed of a piece of 
the soil arouses hope and kindles inspiration. 
While church work is spiritual in its nature, yet, 
it must be attached to the material of the world 



242 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

before it can inspire materialistic men and wo- 
men. Theorize about this as much as we will 
this is the case, and in our Home Mission work 
we have to deal with facts as well as with theo- 
ries. 

The Purchase of a Lot Gives the Mission some 
Definite Work. 

While the preaching of the Gospel and the ex- 
tension of the Kingdom of God is the aim of every 
mission work, still the people like to have some 
definite material work before them. One might 
think that a "lot fund" or "church fund" would 
serve the purpose, but experience teaches that 
they do not. In the minds of the people there is 
a vast difference between a "lot fund" and a real 
lot. The real lot will serve to develop interest 
and stimulate activity such as a mere fund will 
never do. After all, a fund is something imagin- 
ary, while a lot is real earth, and in such work 
people like to see the reality rather than hear 
about the possibility. 

The Location of the Lot. 

Great care and discriminating judgment must 
be exercised selecting the ground upon which the 
future church is to stand. In a large measure 
the future success of the work depends upon the 
proper location. A well located church building 
means success; a poor location means hardships, 
delays, and final failure. In locating the future 



SECURING LOT AND BUILDING 243 

church the judgment of the missionary pastor and 
members of the mission is hardly adequate. The 
higher mission authorities ought to be called in 
to consider and advise. Personal prejudices and 
local attachments often pervert the vision of 
those on the field, while the mission authorities 
who are experienced can see the relation of the 
location to the surrounding community much bet- 
ter than those on the field. 

The future church must be centrally located in 
the territory which it is to serve. People may 
go a long way to work, they may endure all kinds 
of inconveniences in getting to and from the 
place where they earn their daily bread, but they 
will not endure inconveniences in getting to and 
from church. Members of an old established 
church may go a long way to church for the sake 
of attachment and sentiment, but in a mission 
both these elements are lacking. The work is 
too new to have created much sentiment, and 
there has been no building with its sacred mem- 
ories to attract the members. Everything else 
considered, a central location is of prime import- 
ance. 

The future church must be located in reference 
to the membership. The church is to be built as 
a place of worship for the members and they 
must be taken into consideration. They are to 
come to the church and they are to support the 
church and they deserve first consideration when 
it comes to choosing a location. Of course the 



244 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

future members must be considered also, but a 
location that is not satisfactory to the majority 
of the mission congregation is a wrong location. 
It will nearly always be impossible tj have the 
unanimous consent as to place, for people differ 
in preference and judgment, but to locate a 
church against the good will and better judg- 
ment of the larger number of the members of 
the mission is to mislocate it. Mislocating mis- 
sion churches has been one of the prime causes 
of failure in our work in the past. The conveni- 
ence and good will of the membership must be 
taken into consideration when a definite location 
for the future church is to be chosen. 

The location of the church must be made in 
reference to the other churches in the commun- 
ity. All things considered it is not advisable to 
locate a mission church in the immediate vicinity 
of another church. In the first place the other 
Churches may be serving that neighborhood, and 
in the second place it has a discouraging effect 
on the members of the mission congregation. To 
pass a large imposing church and go into a mod- 
est chapel or rented quarters is not conducive to 
enthusiasm. It often happens that members of 
a mission church become discouraged from no 
other cause than that of constantly comparing 
their modest church with the imposing structure 
of some other church in the immediate neigh- 
borhood. A respectable distance from other 
churches in the neighborhood is always advis- 



SECURING LOT AND BUILDING 245 

able. It avoids discouragement such as has 
been mentioned and it has the advantage of draw- 
ing into the Sunday-school and church services 
such as may consider the other churches too 
far away. In smaller cities as well as in larger 
ones the various churches are nearly always 
grouped in certain localities. As a general rule 
it is well to keep at some distance from such 
groups. 

The church must be located in reference to 
the facilities of travel. Elevated railroads, street- 
cars, and boulevards are a factor in locating a 
church. A church ought to be located so as to 
be within easy reach of lines of travel. Some 
of the best people of the new congregation may 
in a very short time live far from their present 
church home. If they have been devoted workers 
in the mission and have become attached to it, 
they will, if they can reach it by car, not for- 
sake but remain with it. However, not only those 
who might move away, but those who reside at 
some distance might affiliate themselves with the 
mission if they can reach it easily. There are 
nearly always some who will take an interest 
in the work from a distance. 

The church must be located in reference to 
factories, railways, etc. It is never advisable to 
locate a church in near proximity to a railway. 
The noise and dirt are detrimental to the worship 
of the congregation. In some states laws regu- 
late the moving of Sunday trains, but it is impos- 



246 LUTHEKAN HOME MISSIONS 

sible to tell how long such laws may be in force. 
Such laws are easily changed, but a church is 
not easily moved. A church in the immediate 
vicinity of factories is equally handicapped. It 
is impossible to tell how soon the factory may 
run on Sunday, and the noise and distraction 
would prove detrimental to the services. 

If possible, the church building should be on 
a corner. In the first place it gives opportunity 
for a more imposing structure, and then it gives 
four ways of access to the church. It is desir- 
able to have people come from all directions to 
the church. The approach to the church is an 
important factor and a corner lot nearly always 
gives a good approach. 

A corner lessens the possibility of undesirable 
buildings encroaching upon the church. It is not 
always possible to keep undesirable buildings 
away. On that account it is well to locate the 
church where the surrounding property is occu- 
pied or where the nature of the future buildings 
is pretty well assured. 

The church should be located in a public place. 
While quietness is desirable, quietness at the ex- 
pense of publicity is not advisable. The church 
ought to be placed where the people frequently 
pass it. It ought to be located where the pub- 
lic can see it. To place the church on some 
obscure street where the public never sees it 
and never becomes conscious of its existence, is 
a mistake. Better some noise with publicity than 



SECURING LOT AND BUILDING 247 

less noise without publicity. A mission church 
must make itself known to the public and a prop- 
er location is a wonderful help in this matter. 

The price of the lot should be a secondary con- 
sideration. While the price will always be a 
determining factor, still it should not be the deter- 
mining factor. A cheap lot may, in the end, be 
the dearest, and an expensive lot may be, in the 
end, the cheapest. The growth of the future 
church should not be hazarded for a few hundred 
or even few thousand dollars. Other things being 
favorable it is best to purchase the most desir- 
able lot, even if it means a larger outlay and a 
longer wait for the coveted building. 

Along with the price, naturally, will go the 
size of the lot. The lot should be large enough 
to meet the future needs of the congregation. 
To hamper the future development of the church 
with too small a lot is a mistake. Naturally the 
other extreme must also be avoided. To buy 
with the expectation of a phenomenal growth 
and retard the work with a large debt on a lot 
is often suicidal. Mission congregations are apt 
to fall into one of these twc extremes and must 
be exceedingly careful when selecting a location 
for the future church. 

An unfavorable location may be too dear even 
as a gift. To build '< church in a community simp- 
ly because someone may donate a lot may be a 
sad mistake. The church must be located where 
the people are, or it is mislocated. It is a mis- 



248 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

take to build a church in a locality and expect to 
draw the people to it from a far distance. As a 
general rule people do not care to travel more 
than thirty minutes to church, and often it is 
difficult to get them to travel that long. This 
is particularly true in the earlier stages of mis- 
sion work. After the mission congregation has 
some prestige, then people will come farther, but 
not in the earlier days of the work. This being 
the case it often is a mistake to accept the offer 
of a free lot when the lot is not in the proper 
location. 

The location of a church being so important, 
the mission should not be in too big a hurry in 
buying a lot. Conditions must be well studied. 
The present location of the prospective members, 
the future development of that neighborhood and 
possible future barriers that may come into the 
community must all be taken into consideration. 
The argument that it is an easy matter to move 
a mission congregation is not a valid one. Those 
who have had the experience know that it is 
exceedingly difficult to move a church after it 
has been established in a certain location. It is 
easier to begin a new mission than to move one 
that has already built a church, however humble 
the church building may be. 

The Building. 

Taking it for granted that the proper location 
has been secured the next step is to get the church 



SECURING LOT AND BUILDING 249 

building itself. Here the mission has its first 
hard financial struggle. But finance or no finance 
the mission must have a church home. To re- 
main in temporary quarters retards the work. 
Christian people have learned to worship God be- 
tween the four walls of a church. If the mission 
is to abide it must be properly housed. Christi- 
anity itself cannot abide unless properly housed. 
We quote Rev. Clarence E. Gardner: "If Christi- 
anity is to abide the test of time and to endure 
the onslaught of unbelief and decay it must be 
properly housed. Houses of worship must be 
found in every city, town, and hamlet. Places 
that can be dignified as temples and cathedrals 
must be found alongside of the busy marts of 
trade. Stone and brick must alike be dedicated 
to the worship of God as well as set apart for 
business and secular pursuits. Stability, perma- 
nency, respectability, and confidence in the power 
of the religion which we profess demand that 
there shall be, not only houses for worship, strong 
and tall, but churchly and stately, in which God 
may be worshiped seven days out of the week, 
and every week in all the years as they come 
and go." If this is true of Christianity itself, 
how much more is it true of the mission congre- 
gation. The house of God is an absolute neces- 
sity to the development of the Home Mission 
congregation. 

The church building is necessary for the proper 
worship of the congregation. The functions of 

Lutheran Home Missions. 17 



250 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

the church building are first of all worship, and 
the mission congregation needs the building for 
that purpose. Store rooms and halls are poor 
places for worship. The surroundings are not 
conducive to worship. The very walls of the 
church building tend to produce a worshipful at- 
mosphere. Mr. Ralph Adams Cram writes of 
the church building thus: "First of all, a church 
is a house of God; a place of His earthly habita- 
tion, wrought in the fashion of heavenly things, 
a visible type of heaven itself." The second pur- 
pose is "the producing of a place of worship where 
may be solemnized the sublime mysteries of the 
Catholic faith; a temple reared about the altar 
and subordniate to it, leading up to it, as the 
center of honor, growing richer and more splendid 
as it approaches the sanctuary." The third rule 
in building it , "the creation of spiritual emotions 
through the ministry of all possible beauty of 
environment, the using of art to lift men's minds 
from secular things to spiritual, that their souls 
may be brought into harmony with God." The 
fourth aspect of church form is, "the arrangement 
of a church building where a congregation may 
conveniently listen to the instruction of spiritual 
leaders." All these helps the mission congrega- 
tion needs badly, but until it has its own church 
building it must go without them. To hold a 
service in a hall where the floors are waxed for 
dancing, or to worship in a store room with a 
piano thumping overhead, is anything but inspir- 



SECURING LOT AND BUILDING 251 

ing. As places for beginning these may do, but 
for genuine worship the church building is abso- 
lutely indispensable. 

The church building is necessary to inspire 
confidence. "Our God tabernacles among men 
even as of old. Without a house in which to wor- 
ship, mankind would oe very much as the children 
of Israel when Moses tarried on the mount of 
Sinai. Without a permanent place of worship, 
and that place substantial, and, to a degree, com- 
fortable in its appointments, no degree of con- 
fidence could be inspired anions: the people in 
God who is to be worshiped, nor in the enterprise 
as a Christian institution in the community. Halls 
and vacant store rooms may suffice for a time 
as places of worship. But in every instance that 
time is limited, and unless there is a disposition 
to secure a permanent and suitable home, as David 
desired for the Lord, the enterprise is doomed 
and the cause of our Lord greatly harmed." — 
Rev. Clarence E. Gardner. 

Eperience shows that there is nothing that will 
inspire confidence in the work of Home Missions 
as a church building. The accessions after the 
erection of a church building are always large, 
showing that the building has begotten confidence 
among the people and they now feel assured that 
the work is no longer a venture, but an assured 
fact. 

Another advantage of having a church building 
is that it points outsiders to God. The building 



252 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

itself stands as an object lesson to men, pointing 
them to God. "It stands as a silent influence, the 
worth and permanency of the religion taught 
therein. The psalmist has said, 'Walk about Zion, 
and go round about her; tell the towers thereof. 
Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces ; 
that ye may tell it to the generations following/ 
Thus speaks every church. It tells the passer-by 
of Him who died to save; it speaks of a love 
so pure and a mercy so deep that both saint and 
sinner who pass its doors acknowledge a debt of 
gratitude to its potent influence." 

The church building tells of the faith of the 
people who worship therein. The presence of a 
Lutheran church in a community tells the passer- 
by that there are those residing in that community 
who hold to the doctrine of God's Word as taught 
by the great reformer. The magnitude of the 
building is apt to give the impression of the 
strength of the congregation. A small chapel is 
a living testimony to the weakness of the congre- 
gation, while a large, imposing building tells the 
story of a strong, influential congregation. How- 
ever, the mission congregation needs the silent 
testimony of a church building telling all that 
here the Lutheran faith is taught and that God is 
worshiped according to the tenets of Lutheran 
belief. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Building up the Work. 

Financing the Mission. 

Having organized a mission congregation, pur- 
chased a lot, and erected a church building, the 
missionary pastor is now face to face with the 
problem of financing the mission. In buying the 
lot and erecting the church those interested in the 
work have contributed all they feel that they can. 
But the work must go forward, and that means 
expense. The up-keep of the church, the pastor's 
salary, and interest must be met. The mission 
now faces the hardest time in its existence. Obli- 
gations taken during the erection of the building 
must be met. Notes come due and must be paid. 
The members of the mission feel that they have 
strained every nerve, and yet the pressing debts 
must be paid. From a financial point of view the 
first five years after the erection of the church 
building are the hardest years in the life of the 
mission. It is now that the missionary pastor 
must show his ability as a financeer. Ways and 



254 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

means for meeting all obligations must be devised, 
and usually it falls upon him to devise them. It 
is in this period of the life of a mission that he 
is tempted to let the people use all kinds of un- 
scriptural methods in raising money because 
money is needed and must be had. 

In order to prosper the mission must be financed 
on a business basis. There is no way that sur- 
passes direct giving. Experience shows that the 
envelope system is the best method. Every mem- 
ber of the congregation and every member of the 
Sunday-school should give regularly. Ofttimes 
many who have not identified themselves with the 
congregation can be induced to contribute regular- 
ly to its support when approached in the right 
way. Many of our older congregations would be 
surprised to learn how everybody in a mission 
congregation helps. Not only do the men and 
women, but even the children contribute every 
Sunday. If they did not do this it would be im- 
possible to carry on the work. 

Another factor in financing a mission congre- 
gation is the Women's Society or Ladies' Aid 
Society. Nearly every mission congregation we 
know anything about owes much to its women's 
society. Usually this society is the mainstay of 
the mission congregation. Often it assumes the 
interest on the debt, or some note which must be 
paid, or secures furniture for the church, etc. 
Most of the mission congregations could not have 
passed through the trying years following the 



BUILDING UP THE WORK 255 

erection of their church building had it not been 
for the assistance of such a society. 

Of course the mission congregation can always 
appeal to the general public and get some help. 
It can do this when buying the lot and building 
the church, but after that it does not have a very 
strong appeal and cannot expect much help from 
the community. After the public has helped two 
or three times it will not listen to further appeals 
with much interest. 

In the final analysis the membership of the mis- 
sion must finance the enterprise. It is their 
church. It is for their benefit, and why should 
they not support it? We have always felt that 
we have no more right to ask the public to support 
our church than we have to ask it to support our 
family. The membership of the mission must 
be made to understand that they must assume the 
financial obligations of the mission and that they 
must meet those obligations. 

Neglect in meeting financial obligations has 
been a hindrance to the growth of many a mission 
congregation. The obligations of a church are 
just as binding as the obligations of a business 
institution, and they should be met just as prompt- 
ly. One of the first things a mission congrega- 
tion should seek to do is to establish a credit, and 
when once established it should meet its obliga- 
tions and keep that credit. A mission congrega- 
tion cannot afford to lose its credit. It needs 
credit and borrowing power just as much as any 



256 LUTHERA.N HOME MISSIONS 

business man, and it should endeavor to keep it 
just as the business man does. It is a fatal mis- 
take for a mission congregation to lose its credit. 

Meeting the Discouragements. 

Every mission congregation is sorely beset with 
discouragements. The path to success is not 
strewn with roses. Discouragements of all kinds 
will arise. One of the first will be that of finance. 
It will be so difficult to meet pressing obligations 
that the members will become discouraged and 
disheartened and often lose interest. 

Another discouragement will come from the 
failure of promising persons who unite with the 
church to develop into active workers and helpers. 
People who unite with the congregation and give 
promise of becoming good supporters will prove 
to be dismal failures. Occurrences of this kind 
are very depressing upon the pastor as well as 
upon the members. But they must be expected. 
There are always people who are carried away 
with the enthusiasm of first beginnings, but with 
the passing of this enthusiasm they disappear 
also. They do not have the faith and courage 
necessary to continue in the day of sore trials. 

Another discouragement that a mission must 
meet is the disappointment in the growth of mem- 
bership. It matters not how fortunately a mis- 
sion congregation is located, its membership never 
increases as rapidly as was anticipated. As a 
general rule people do not take to the enterprise 



BUILDING UP THE WORK 257 

as it might reasonably have been expected that 
they would. It takes longer to get them inter- 
ested in the work than was first anticipated, and 
this proves to be a discouragement. The people 
knew that the mission needs more members, and 
when the accessions are not as fast as they think 
they ought to be they become discouraged, think- 
ing that the mission is not reaching the commu- 
nity as it should. 

Ofttimes the mission meets discouragement on 
account of flagrant sins of some of its prominent 
workers. It often happens that one who has taken 
an active part in the work of the church is over- 
taken in a sin and brings disrepute upon the 
church. An older congregation can pass through 
an expenrience of this kind with little damage 
to the reputation of the church, but not so with 
a mission congregation. The mission has as yet 
not established its good name in the community, 
and an occurrence of this kind proves to be almost 
a calamity. 

The discouragements will come thick and fast, 
but the mission must meet them in a heroic way 
and overcome them. Here the discretion and 
tact of the pastor will be tested to the utmost. 
If he is able to keep the mission encouraged in 
the face of disappointment he will succeed in 
building up a strong church. 

Keeping up the Interest. 
Not only must the mission meet discourage- 
ments, but it must keep up interest. To let inter- 



258 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

est die out is to let the mission die. A necessary 
element in keeping up interest is to get the mem- 
bers of the congregation acquainted with each 
other. Especially in our city missions the mem- 
bers come from all walks and conditions in life 
and seldom know each other until they meet in 
church. On this account meetings of a social 
nature where the members can come together on 
an equal standing, are very desirable. For the 
members of the mission to spend an evening to- 
gether, where they can talk with each other and 
learn to know each other, is a good thing. The 
bond of union at such a time is a common interest 
in a particular church, and this bond will be more 
close after they have met together in a social way. 
A meeting of this kind often proves to be the 
stepping stone for outsiders to come into the 
church. For those who are not members of the 
church to meet the members in a social way often 
increases their interest and leads them into the 
church. 

To have some definite work before the church 
and to keep everybody busy at it is another way 
of keeping up interest. As long as people are 
busy working for the church they will be inter- 
ested in it. It is a good thing to be constantly 
adding to the furnishings of the church. However 
small the thing may be, the people see that there 
is improvement, and this tends to keep up interest. 

Of course nothing tends to keep up interest as 
well-attended services and large accessions of 



BUILDING UP THE WORK 259 

new members. Naturally the whole congregation 
should center its efforts here. To have large con- 
gregations it is imperative that every member 
be regular in attending the services. In a large 
church the absence of a member is not noticed, 
but in a mission it is conspicuous at once. In the 
matter of accessions the members can do much 
to increase them. Every member should be an 
active worker securing new accessions, and as 
long as he works he will keep up interest. 

The Weeding out Process. 

Not every person who unites with a mission 
will become an active church worker. There 
comes a testing time when many will fall away. 
There was a time when the followers of our 
Saviour were sorely tested, and many walked with 
him no more, and just so is there a time when 
the followers of a mission congregation are sorely 
tested, and from that time on many will walk with 
it no more. This is inevitable. The members 
come from all quarters of the world. They have 
had the most varied experience in church life, and 
it is unreasonable to suppose that such varied 
elements will amalgamate into a harmonious con- 
gregation all at once. 

Again there will always be those who will unite 
with the mission with impure motives. They will 
come into it expecting to become leaders, and when 
their expectations are not realized they drop 
away. Others will come into the work for social 



260 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

or business reasons, and when they are disap- 
pointed they soon drop out. Then there will al- 
ways be those who were carried into the organi- 
zation on the waves of first enthusiasm, and after 
this has died down they too lose interest and quit. 
About three or four years after the mission has 
been organized this weeding out process takes 
place. For the time being it is very discouraging 
to the mission, but in the end it is a good thing. 
When these persons have taken their departure 
the mission is smaller but stronger. Those who 
remain are genuine, and with this nucleus the 
missionary pastor can do wonders. Just as a 
healthy human body will throw out the impurities 
that have gotten into its organism, so will a 
healthy mission congregation expurgate the im- 
purities that have crept into its organization. 
The weeding out process is a necessary experience. 

Handling the Factions. 

Factions are apt to develop in the best regulated 
congregation, and they are doubly apt to arise in 
a mission congregation. In the average English 
Lutheran mission congregation there will be sev- 
eral nationalities represented in the membership. 
Now each nationality has had a different church 
training in the old country, or in a foreign-speak- 
ing church in this country, and this difference in 
nationality and church training is apt to cause 
friction. When the membership of a mission con- 
gregation is composed of several nationalities, and 



BUILDING UP THE WORK 261 

these nationalities are about equal in number, 
jealousy and rivalry are apt to develop unless 
the pastor is very discrete. A great barrier to 
the development of a mission is this element. It 
often happens that instead of having a harmoni- 
ous congregation the mission has three or four 
different groups, each jealous of the other. It 
takes time, patience, and grace to bring these 
elements together and make a harmonious work- 
ing congregation out of them. Experience shows 
that the mission congregation which has only one 
nationality to deal with makes much more prog- 
ress than the one which has several nationalities 
in its membership. 

Developing the Sunday-school. 

We take it for granted that the Sunday-school 
was started early in the life of the mission. Often 
the school is begun before the congregation is 
organized. The first step in developing the Sun- 
day-school is that of increasing its membership. 
Many schemes are resorted to. But experience 
proves that the best missionaries for the school 
are the children themselves. They can do more 
towards increasing the membership of the school 
than the pastor, superintendent, or the teachers. 
The thing to be done is to enlist the cooperation 
of the children already in the school. We have 
known cases where one child has brought as many 
as twenty permanent scholars into the school in 
four weeks. 



262 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

After an enrollment has been secured the next 
step is to secure competent teachers. Here the 
missionary usually meets a real difficulty. Those 
who are interested in the mission often have had 
little or no experience in Sunday-school work, and 
many of them absolutely refuse to help. But 
teachers must be had, and if he cannot find them 
he must proceed to make them. Under such cir- 
cumstances the thing to be done is to take some 
of the young people who are interested and or- 
ganize a teacher's training class and train them 
for the work. This will take much time and pa- 
tience, but it is the best thing that can be done. 
Even if the class is small let him continue, for in 
the end he will have a few trained workers, and a 
few trained workers will be a mighty power in 
his school. 

The external organization of the school must 
be looked after carefully. The more systematic 
the school is organized, the better it will be. If 
at all possible a full corps of officers and teachers 
should be elected, and the school should be care- 
fully graded. Even if the school is small it should 
be conducted as systematically as if it were a large 
one. The missionary cannot devote too much time 
to the Sunday-school, for out of it he will receive 
his future church members. 

Developing a Church Consciousness. 

The average mission congregation in its first 
years is too busy growing and meeting its obliga- 



BUILDING UP THE WORK 263 

tions to realize that it is a church. Therefore it 
is necessary for the missionary to develop a church 
consciousness in the mission. He must show the 
little flock that their congregation has all the 
functions of a church and all the privileges and 
obligations of a large congregation. He must 
bring them to a realization that they are part of 
the Church of Christ and have a duty to the 
Church at large and towards the general benev- 
olent work of the Church. Most mission congre- 
gations have such a hard struggle to maintain 
themselves that they never feel that they owe any- 
thing to the Church at large. But that missionary 
pastor who neglects to inform and impress upon 
his mission its relation to the Church at large, is 
making a sad mistake. The mission must become 
conscious of the fact that it is a church and that 
it is a part of the Church universal. Sometimes 
it takes a long time to bring the mission to this 
consciousness, but it must be done, or the work 
will fail in a most important matter. 

Establishing a Standing in the Community. 

A mission congregation must establish a stand- 
ing in the community in which it exists. In order 
to do this it must stand squarely upon Lutheran 
usage and practice. That mission congregation 
makes a mistake that makes light of Lutheran 
customs. Looseness of church practices never 
helps a mission. At one time it was thought that 
our Church should become more American, and 



264 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

it was thought that the way to do this was to 
discard such time-honored customs as catechiza- 
tion and confirmation and use instead the revival 
system of the Methodists. This was one of the 
saddest mistakes our Lutheran Church ever made. 
In its zeal to reach a certain class of people a 
mission is often tempted to make this same mis- 
take, but such a procedure would hurt instead of 
help. A Lutheran Mission cannot establish a 
standing in a community by repudiating Lutheran 
customs and practices. 

Not only church practices, but the lives and 
example of the members go a long way towards 
establishing a standing in the community. The 
mission is known by the products it turns out. 
This being the case the members of the mission 
are under a double obligation to walk circum- 
spectly. They are to be shining examples for the 
mission. The mission will be known and judged 
by their lives. This being true, the missionary 
pastor must look well to the spiritual life of his 
flock; for not only is the welfare of the people 
at stake, but the welfare of the mission as well. 

In order to establish a standing the mission 
must keep money matters in the background as 
much as possible and must lay stress upon the 
saving of souls. ]?or a mission to get the reputa- 
tion that it seeks money instead of souls is a sad 
thing. If the mission stands for anything it 
stands for that which is spiritual, and it must 
never let the spiritual be overshadowed by that 



BUILDING UP THE WORK 265 

which is material. While the community may 
seemingly pay little attention to the mission, nev- 
ertheless it soon knows whether it is a spiritual 
power or not. When the mission is forever solicit- 
ing the public for funds, and its members are 
living a worldly life, its reputation for godliness 
will soon suffer. It is of vital importance that the 
mission makes a good reputation in the commu- 
nity. By emphasizing the spiritual and by show- 
ing the good it is doing for its members it must 
convince the community of its usefulness and 
worth. 

Creating a Wide Outlook. 

A mission congregation is apt to become self- 
centered and narrow. The struggle for existence 
is so hard that it often fails to look beyond its 
own confines. But it must have a wide outlook. A 
mission congregation must have a wide outlook 
in two directions: first, in regard to its own de- 
velopment, and, secondly, in regard to the place 
it is to take in the work of the Church at large. 

A mission congregation with a small outlook 
will remain a small congregation. The mission 
must come to the realization that it has a large 
work in that community, and that it can by the 
help of God do that work. Often our missions 
get the idea that self-preservation is the highest 
law of life for them. They struggle on under 
many difficulties forgetting that they are set to do 
a work for the community instead of the commu- 

Lutheran Home Missions. IS 



266 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

nity doing a work for them. Contracted vision 
has been the death of more than one promising 
mission congregation. 

But when a mission has a wide outlook, a spirit 
of hope and enthusiasm pervades the whole con- 
gregation. When a mission congregation realizes 
that it as a church has a work to do in a com- 
munity, usually it will have enough life and en- 
thusiasm to do it, but when it becomes self -cen- 
tered, disintegration sets in. 

A mission congregation must have a wide out- 
look as to the work it is to do in the Church at 
large. At the earliest possible time it should 
be made acquainted with all the benevolent works 
of the Church, and should be taught to give in 
their behalf. To say that a congregation has no 
duty towards the work of the Church at large be- 
cause it is a mission church is a fatal mistake. 
It should be told of all the work of the Church, 
and from the very beginning should be led to 
give to that cause. A man's duty towards the 
heathen and the poor is not lessened because he 
happens to belong to a mission church. That mis- 
sionary pastor who is able to create a wide outlook 
in his mission will have a working and prosperous 
congregation. 

Bringing the Mission to Self-sustentation. 

The whole purpose of Home Mission work is to 
bring the mission congregation to that point of 
development where it can henceforth care for its 



BUILDING UP THE WORK 267 

own interests. When it reaches that point, then 
the Home Mission interests cease to labor for it, 
and it takes its place among the regular congre- 
gations of the Church. How long it will take a 
mission congregation to reach self-sustentation 
depends entirely upon circumstances. One may 
reach it in a few years, while it may take many 
years for another to become self-supporting. The 
fruitf ulness of the field, internal development, and 
pastoral ministrations are all important factors 
in the growth and development of a mission, and 
each one conditions the progress of the work. 

When is a mission congregation self-support- 
ing? is another consideration. In our estimation 
a congregation is not self-supporting until its 
membership is strong enough and its offerings 
large enough to take care of all its obligations. 
In the past many of our mission congregations 
have declared themselves self-supporting long 
before they should have done so. The result was 
that many of them had to struggle along for years, 
and some of them had to come back to the Home 
Mission Board for aid. A conservative middle is 
the safest. A congregation should not ask aid 
of the Mission Board when it is able to support 
itself, neither should a Mission Board refuse aid 
to a mission until it is able to take care of its own 
interests. 

The number of members a mission church 
should have before it becomes self-supporting de- 
pends entirely upon conditions. Sometimes a 



268 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

comparatively small flock is altogether able to 
take care of itself, while at other times a com- 
paratively large congregation is absolutely unable 
to take care of its interests without aid from the 
Mission Board. We believe that every mission 
congregation should declare itself self-supporting 
as soon as practicable, but that does not say that 
now the congregation has all the stability a con- 
gregation needs. It takes from fifteen to twenty- 
five years for a mission congregation to become a 
genuinely substantial congregation. That much 
time must elapse before all the various elements 
entering into the composition of a new church 
shall have been welded into a harmonious 
whole. 

May the Head of the Church aid the Lutheran 
Church in its great Home Mission work in this 
land. May He speed the day when the many scat- 
tered sheep shall have been gathered into the fold, 
and when there shall be but one fold and one 
shepherd. 



INDEX 



Advertising, 217. 
Agricultural fair, 113. 
Aim of Home Missions, 13. 
Albert, Rev. Chas. A., 42. 
America, 9. 
American, 97 ff. 
American Luth. Church, 126. 
Anglo-Saxon, 102. 
Apportionment system, 143, 

153. 
Attitude of community, 212. 
Augsburg Confession, 15, 64, 

68. 
Augustana Synod, 79, 197. 
Austria. 108. 



B. 



Babcock, Prof., 122. 

Backsliders, 208. 

Baltimore, 75, 76. 

Baptists, 78. 

Base of supplies, 42. 

Basis of Home Missions, 25 ff . ; 

examples of Apostles, 28; 

love of Christ, 29, 30; 

New Test, 26, 27, 28; 

Old Test., 25 f. 
Baxter, Dr., 104. 
Bell, Rev. Ezra K., 75. 
Belshazzarism, 40. 
Benevolent work, 51. 



Bliss, 13. 

Board of English Home Mis- 
sions, 150. 
Boston, 79. 
Boy, 226. 
Broad vision, 157. 
Brooks, Rev. Phillips, 78. 
Buffalo, 76. 
Building, 248. 

Building up Church, 33 f., 173. 
Building up work, 253. 
Business basis, 204, 205. 
Business people, 254. 



C. 



California, 73, 92. 

Calls, 216. 

Campaigns, 154. 

Canada, 60, 108. 

Canvass, 200. 

Care of body, 113. 

Carolinas, 105. 

Catechization, 18. 

Chicago, 61, 81. 

Chicago Record-Herald, 106. 

Christian education, 13. 

Christmas, 113. 

Christian philanthropy, 44. 

Church and Home Missions, 

131 ff. 
Church activity, 44. 
Church Book, 220. 
Church building, 248 ff. 



Lutheran Home Missions. 



19 



270 



LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 



Church consciousness, 262, 263. 
Church Extension Society, 

173 ff. 
Church home, 173, l'<4. 
Church lot, 241—248. 
Church papers, 137. 
Church practices, 17, 18. 
City missions, 81, 95, 157. 
Civil war, 107, 108, 117. 
Cleveland, 81. 
Cleveland, President, 55. 
Clerical robe, 219. 
Conscientiousness, 98. 
Colleges, 51, 65. 
Colonization, 101. 
Colonial stock, 97. 
Community, 206. 
Communicant members, 50, 60. 
Common Service, 166. 
Conditions of labor, 234. 
Confirmation, 18. 
Colorado, 73. 
Connecticut, 73. 
Congregational Church, 76, 178. 
Correspondence, 238, 239. 
Cram, Mr. R. A., 250—257. 
Crisis of missions, 11. 



D. 



Dakota, 84, 88. 

Danish immigration, 117. 

Definition of Home Missions, 

12 f. 
Degenerate, 208. 
Delaware, 58. 
Denmark, 117. 
Depleted sections, 49. 
Directing missionaries, 160. 
Discouragements, 256. 
District superintendent, 150. 
Divisions of Church, 35. 
Doctrines, 15 f. 
Doubter, 229. 
Dutch, The, 56, 97, 116. 



E. 



Earnest piety, 165. 

East, 74 f., 76. 

Ellis Isla,nd, 118. 

Energy, 99. 

England, 73. 

English, The, 97, 98. 

English Home Missions, 149, 

150. 
English work, 90. 
Enthusiasm, 159. 
Encyclopaedia of Missions, 13. 
Enders, Rev. G. W., 21. 
Episcopal Church, 77, 178. 
Era, new, 10. 
Erie Canal, 106. 
Example of Apostles, 28. 
"Ex-missionary", 138 f. 
Experience in Home Miss., 15. 
Experts, 150. 
Exploiters, 122. 



F. 



Factory laborers, 204. 
Farrar, Archdeacon, 99. 
Faust, Albert B., 109, 111 f. 
Field missionaries, 150. 
Field of Home Missions, 49, 
61, 71 ff.; 

East, 74, 75; 

East north central division, 
79—80. 

Mountain div., 91 — 92; 

New England, 76 — 77; 

Pacific slope, 92—93; 

South, 93—95; 

West, 82—87; 

West north central div., 88 
—91; 

Whole country, 71 f. 
Financing mission, 253 — 256. 
Financial standing, 202, 203. 
Firm conviction, 169. 



INDEX 



271 



First service, 219—220. 
First wave, 106. 
Foreign Missions, 42, 43, 53. 
Formalism, 40, 41. 
Fort Stanvix, 54. 
Francis, Dr. J. M., 177. 
Frontier, 33, 80, 157. 
"Frontier, The", 186. 

G. 

Gardner, Rev. C, 249, 251. 
General superintendent, 156 ff. 
General survey 

of the age, 2; 

of church practices, 17; 

of doctrinal situation, 15; 

of Home Missions, 14; 

of Inner Missions, 19, 20; 

of the liturgical situation, 
16; 

of Lutheran Church, 11; 

of mission situation, 11. 
General Council, 18, 36, 149, 

196. 
General Synod, 21, 52, 197. 
Georgia, 105. 
Germany, 61. 
Germans, 97, 98, 105 ff.; 

care of body, 113; 

characteristics, 111; 

idealism of, 114; 

individualism of, 112; 

joy of living of, 112; 

love of laoor, 111; 

persistency of, 111; 

personal liberty of, 114; 

sense of duty of, 112; 

simple life of, 112. 
German belt, 110. 
German immigration, 57, 61, 
80 81„ 105 ff.; 

causes for, 106, 107; 

character of, 109; 

distribution of, 110; 

first wave of, 106; 

present status of, 109; 



second wave of, 107; 

third wave of, 108. 
German Lutherans, 80. 
Gladstone, 103. 
Goethe, 67. 

Grasp of situation, 149. 
Great commission, 27, 28. 

H. 

Haas, Dr. John A. W., 77. 
Hall, 214. 

Hall, Prescot F., 125. 
Hanna, Senator Mark, 125. 
Hecker, 107. 
Henkel, Rev. Paul, 181. 
Hiesler, Rev. Chas. W., 38. 
Higginson, Rev. F., 99 
Higher Criticism, 23, 66, 72 
Home Missions (see table of 
contents) ; 

activity, 22; 

aim of, 13; 

basis of, 25 ff . ; 

definitions of, 12 f . ; 

economy of, 51 f . ; 

example of Apostles of, 28 f . ; 

experience in, 15, 24; 

experimenting with, 24; 

field of, 49, 61, 71 ff.; 

history of, 32; 

in cities, 33; 

importance of, 46 ff., 55, 56 ; 

lectures on, 145; 

museum of, 145; 

New Testament on, 26 f.; 

object of, 14, 31 ff.; 

Old Testament on, 25; 

opportunity of, 11, 71 ff.; 

principles of, 11, 14, 28; 

results of, 32; 

science of, 14, 27; 

tasks of, 41; 

theory of, 15. 

warrant for, 27; 

way for, 24; 

work of, 11. 



272 



LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 



Home Mission Forces, 145 ff., 
163 ff.; 
Board, 145, 156; 
Church Extension Society, 

173—179; 
General superintendent, 156 

—162; 
local congregation, 131 — 

143; 
missionary pastor, 163 — 173. 
Home missionaries, 32, 33, 48, 

74, 183, 184, 185, 186. 
Home Mission Board, 145 ff. 
Home Mission field, 71 ff. 
Home Mission literature, 137, 

153. 
Home Mission papers, 146. 
Home Mission principles, 28. 
Home Mission services, 137. 
Home Mission territory, 73 f. 
Honesty, 111. 
Huguenot, 97, 98. 
Hungaria, 108, 127. 



I. 



Idaho, 84, 91. 
Ideals, 100. 
Idealism, 114. 
Illinois, 116. 
Immigrant, 32, 80. 
Immigration, 89, 160. 
Importance of Home Missions, 
46 ff., 53, 55, 56; 

essence of missionary en- 
deavor, 45; 

extend the Church, 49, 50; 

increase means ,50, 57; 

maintain strength, 47; 

most economical, 51, 52, 53; 

to Luth. Church, 56, 57, 58, 
59, 60—70; 

when Church is scattered, 
53, 54, 55. 
Indiana, 80. 
Indian Christians. 43. 



Indifferent, 208, 228. 
Indifferentism, 41. 
Individualism, 113, 161. 
Individual mission, 152. 
Industrial era, 80. 
Inner Missions, 19 f., 44 f. 
Intellectual life, 101. 
Interest in community, 215. 
Interest in mission, 257 — 258. 
Inventive genius, 102. 
Irrigation, 91. 
Itineraries, 154. 
Itinerate system, 181 ff. 

J. - 

Jacobs, Dr. H. B., 57. 

Janitor, 171. 

Jesus, 26. 

Joint Synod of Ohio, 198. 

Joy of living, 112. 

K. 

Kansas, 88. 

Keiter, Rev. Chas., 109, 117. 



L. 



Labors of Church, 48. 
Ladies Aid Society, 254. 
Laity, 63. 

Laird, Dr. Samuel, 175. 
Land speculation, 106. 
Language question, 89. 
Lectures on Home Missions, 

145. 
Local congregation, 135 ff.; 

attitude of, 131 f.; 

information of, 137; 

interest of, 138; 

missionary society of, 143; 

obligations of, 133; 

pastor of, 136; 

requirements of, 133; 

Sunday-school of, 144. 
Love of home, 112. 



INDEX 



273 



Love of labor, 111. 
Love for Church, 156. 
Liberalism, 170. 
Liturgy, 16 f. 
Liturgical discussions, 17. 
Location of lot, 242, 243. 
"Lutheran, The", 61, 175, 177. 
Lutheran Church, 56, 57, 59, 

69 f., 71, 79, 116. 
Lutheran Church Review, 109, 

117. 
Lutheran Confessions, 65. 
Lutheran consciousness, 18. 
Lutheran Cyclopaedia, 12. 
Lutheran immigrants, 88. 
Lutheran material, 75. 
Lutheran stock, 60 . 
Lutheran territory, 74. 

M. 

Material, 217. 
Materialism, 40. 
Maryland, 74. 

McAfee, Dr. Joseph, 85, 87. 
Means of grace, 132. 
Means of the Church, 50 f. 
Methods of approach, 232, 233. 
Mjethods of finance, 152. 
Military service, 108. 
Michigan, 80. 
Middle West, 47. 
Migration, 47. 
Mining district, 157. 
Minnesota, 88. 
Mission churches, 43. 
Missouri, 88, 106. 
Missouri Synod, 198. 
Mission Congregation, 17, 43, 

50, 51, 52, 155, 159. 
Mission policy, 151. 
Missionary pastor, 155, 161, 

163 ff. 
Missionary society, 142. 
Mississippi basin, 62, 197. 
Money making power, 102. 
Mountain division, 91. 



Morning service, 219. 
Museum, 145. 
Mohawk, 105. 
Montana, 73, 83, 91. 
Muhlenberg, 15. 

N. 

Napoleonic wars, 80. 
Nationalizing Church, 35. 
National Slovonic Society, 128. 
Need of Luth. Church, 211. 
Nelson, Prof. O. M . 199 f. 
Nebraska, 88. 
Negro, 94. 
Nevada, 91. 

New England, 62, 76 ff., 79, 83. 
New York, 58, 61, 74, 105. 
New York City, 76. 
New Testament, 26 ff. 
Northwest, 49, 55, 93, 122. 
Norwegians, 116. 
Numerical strength, 47. 

O. 

Oberly, Rev. Frank, 184. 
Object of Home Missions: 
build Church, 33, 34; 
nationalize Church, 35, 36, 

37, 38; 
promote Inner Missions, 44; 
save country, 38, 39, 40, 41, 

42; 
save souls, 31, 32; 
strengthen Foreign Mis- 
sions, 42, 43, 44. 
Occupation of people, 204. 
Office workers, 204. 
Old Testament, 25 ff. 
Officer, Rev. Morris, 13, 26, 

34, 53. 
Ohio, 80. 
Opportunity for Home Mis 

sions, 59 f., 63. 
Oregon, 92. 

Organization of board, 147. 
Outlook, 265. 



274 



LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 



P. 

Pacific slope, 92. 
Palatines, 56. 
Panama Canal, 101. 
Parochial system, 187 ff. 
Partly prepared, 97. 
Passavant, Rev. W. A., Jr., 

36 f£. 
Pastoral calls, 216. 
Patience, 171. 
Patriotism, 121. 
Pennsylvania, 58, 74, 127. 
Pennsylvania Germans, 113. 
Pennsylvania Ministerium, 75. 
Permanency of people, 201. 
People for Home Missions, 
201 ff.; 

Americans, 97, 98 — 105; 

backsliders, 208; 

business people, 204; 

factory people, 204; 

financial standing of, 202; 

leisure class, 205; 

Germans, 105 — 115; 

indifferent, 208; 

occupation of, 204, 205; 

permanency of, 201; 

partly prepared, 97; 

professional people, 204; 

religious condition of, 207; 

roomers, 206; 

Scandinavians, 116 — 126; 

Slovaks, 127—130; 

social life of, 202; 

types of, 209. 
Persistency. 114. 
Pfeiffer, Prof. B., 27. 
Piatt, Mr. Ward, 186. 
Plan, 139. 

Phelps, Prof. Austin, 46 f. 
Piedmont plateau, 105. 
Pivotal man, 230. 
Presbyterian Church, 178. 
Professional people, 204. 
Property owners, 203, 204. 
Psychological types, 233. 



R. 

Ramer, Dr. A. L., 127. 

Railroading, 204. 

Religious characteristics, 125. 

Religious conditions, 206. 

Religious life, 104, 125. 

Religious press, 146. 

Religious persecution, 109. 

Reimensnyder, Dr. J. M., 64. 

Revival system, 66. 

Robe, 219. 

Rochester, 188. 

Roomers, 206. 

Roosevelt, President, 57, 185. 

Russia. 108. 



Sacrifice, 62. 
Sadtler, Dr. S., 136. 
Salzburgers, 56. 
Sandt, Dr. G. W., 61, 66, 126. 
Scandinavians. 116 ff., 117, 
118, 122, 125, 126; 

Babcock on, 122; 

characteristics of, 119; 

courage of, 120; 

firmness of, 120; 

Hall on, 125; 

individuality of, 119; 

love of soil of, 124; 

patriotism of, 121; 

religious characteristics of, 
128; 

study of, 122. 
Scandinavian Americans, 121. 
Scandinavian immigration, 

117, 118. 
Schaeffer, Rev. A., 220, 221. 
Schaff, Dr., 68. 
Schurz, Carl, 107. 
Scotch-Irish, 97, 106. 
Securing members, 222 ff.; 

approach of, 232; 

boys, 226; 

by correspondence, 238; 



INDEX 



275 



doubters, 229; 

indifferent, 228; 

men, 225; 

methods of, 223; 

pivotal man, 230; 

young family, 227; 

young men, 227. 
Securing place of meeting, 

218, 214. 
Self-denial, 168. 
Self-sustentation, 266. 
Seminary missionary move- 
ment, 61. 
Sense of duty, 112. 
Slovaks, 127 ff.; 

lodges of, 128; 

honesty of, 128; 

immigration of, 126; 

ministers of, 129; 

newspapers of, 129; 

religious condition of, 129; 

Steiner, Prof., on, 128. 
Slovak immigration, 126. 
Siegel, 107. 
Simple life, 112. 
Social life, 202; 
South, The, 93 f. 
Spaeth, Dr. A., 88. 
Specialists, 172. 
Spencer, Herbert, 102. 
Starting mission, 213 ff.; 

advisability of, 211; 

attitude towards, 212; 

first service of, 219; 

interest in, 215; 

need of, 211; 

material for, 217 ; 

place of, 218. 
Store room, 214. 
Steiner, Prof., 129. 
Strategic points, 158. 
Strong, Josiah, 73 f., 83, 102. 
Sunday-school, 14, 60, 144. 
Superintendent (see General 

Superintendent). 
Support, 153. 



Swede, 77, 116, 117. 
Swedish Home Missions, 196. 
Swedish Lutherans, 142. 
Synodical partizanship, 16, 63. 
Synodical rivalry, 63. 
Synodical system, 196. 

T. 

Temporary quarters, 240. 

Texas, 74. 

Theological seminary, 145. 

Theses, 57. 

Time of approach, 236. 

Theory of Home Missions, 15. 

Toledo, 81. 

Trabert, Dr. G. H., 169. 

Turner, Prof. P. J., 106, 111. 

Types of Lutherans, 209. 

U. 

Unchurched Americans, 60, 

101. 
Unchurched Lutherans, 61, 89. 
United Synod, 94. 

V. 

Vacation, 142. 
Virginia, 58, 105. 
Vision, 20, 157. 
Visits of pastor, 142. 

W. 

Wagner, Rev. M. L., 181. 

Washington, 92. 

Warrant, 27. 

Weeding out process, 259. 

Weidner, Dr. R. P., 12. 

Window signs, 217. 

Winning men, 225, 226, 227, 

231. 
West, 47, 49, 55, 82 ff., 185. 
White, Ambassador, 115. 
Wisconsin, 80, 107, 117. 
Women's societies 254. 
Wyoming, 91. 



OCT 24 1913 

276 LUTHERAN HOME MISSIONS 

Y. Z. 

Young family, 227, 223. Zeal, 155, 167. 

Young men, 65, 227. Zimmerman, Rev. L. M., 40. 



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